


We are all mad here

by Zarhara



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Alice Madness Returns, Alice in Wonderland (2010), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland, Blood and Gore, Cora is dead (Sorry!), Cora used to be Alice, Discrimination, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hale Family Feels, Happy Ending, Homophobic Language, Hurt Stiles, M/M, Now Derek is Alice!, Sad Derek, Sorta slightly dark-ish, Warning: Kate Argent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-24 10:57:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4916962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zarhara/pseuds/Zarhara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>He was falling and it was dark. Maybe that was because he had his eyes closed, but he didn’t want to open them and see. See all the things that he had read about. See the bed, the dressers and the dirt walls, moving past him with incredible speed as he fell. As he fell down the rabbit hole.</em>  </p><p>Derek is on the run; he's running from many things including his psychiatrist and the ghosts of his entire family. He never expected that what used to be a childhood dream shared with his little sister, and later a place to take solace when the smell of ash became too cloying, could ever give him what he needed to finally stop running.  As Derek falls, he is confronted with all of his past mistakes, and see the true extent of the fire that burned his family alive; because Wonderland is nothing like Derek remembers and deadlier than ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We are all mad here

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> Thank you for looking at my fic :) I've had this idea of an Alice in Wonderland AU forever, but never had the time to actually write it, before now that is. The fic contains elements from both the 2010 movie, the original book as well as the horror game Alice madness returns. The story shouldn't be too dark or anything though. 
> 
> You don't have to be overly familiar with the Alice in wonderland fandom, but a general knowledge of that world would probably make the fic less confusing. Additionally, I gave Derek the role of Alice, because of how she is portrayed in Alice Madness Return, in which she has black hair, green eyes and believes that she is to blame for her entire family dying in a house fire. It seemed appropriate to make Derek alice with that in mind...
> 
> I hope that you'll like the story, and comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Also, this is un-beta'd so if you spot any glaring errors or mistakes please feel free to point them out to me, and I will do my best to get them fixed. 
> 
> This work is already completely finished and I hope to have all the remaining chapters up before sunday. So this is not a WIP, I'm just rereading and editing the last pages :)
> 
> P.s I do not own any of the characters from either fandom. Furthermore, this work is intended for the private enjoyment of the reader. I do not give permission to this work to be read aloud and/or shared with the press, or anyone taking part in the production of Teen Wolf or Alice in wonderland, including but not limited to cast, crew, writers, or producers. I also do not give permission share this work on third-party websites such as Goodreads, which I believe is a resource intended for published works outside of fandom.

_He was falling and it was dark. Maybe that was because he had his eyes closed, but he didn’t want to open them and see. See all the things that he had read about. See the bed, the dressers and the dirt walls, moving past him with incredible speed as he fell. As he fell down the rabbit hole._

Derek laid quietly listening to the sound of rain hitting the roof. The wind was blowing coldly through a hole in the wall, and had he not been a werewolf, he would have been afraid of getting sick. He drew his blankets closer to himself nonetheless. Sometimes Derek cherished the rain, and loved its ability to make him forget and clear his mind of guilt. At least for a time. Today, the rain just made the smell of ashes even worse. Eventually he drifted off to sleep, but it was restless and plagued by nightmares. When he awoke the sun was high in the sky, and there were no clouds to indicate that there had been or would be another storm. Derek sighed and stretched so that his back cracked. He always slept rolled up in a corner, partly because the mattress was too small for his big and muscular frame, but also because it felt safer. Derek jumped up and in seconds, he was out the door and running a perimeter around his territory. 

The fresh air felt good against his face and the familiar sounds of the forest were calming. He startled a herd of deer, and contemplated chasing after them for a second or two before he shook his head and continued checking the perimeter. He hadn’t chased anything for fun for a long time. He stopped at a lake to wash his face free of grime, running a wet hand down the back of his neck as well. As he stood all the birds, occupying nearby trees flew away in a frenzy of wings. The perimeter check was almost done, and there had been nothing peculiar or out of the ordinary. Some part of Derek almost wished that something would happen soon. He was tired of waiting.

There was a family of hunters in town, called the Argents. They had announced their arrival by shooting up his house and tried to intimidate him at random gas stations all over town. Granted, the house was already in an appalling state, but that was his own fault. Derek consciously stopped his train of thought by looking at the sun, trying to estimate the time. It was around noon when he got up, and a perimeter check usually took about three hours. So three o’clock. He sighed, turned and started his trek home. He didn’t feel like running and arriving at the house earlier than planned. That just meant more time spend staring into nothing with nothing to do. It wasn’t actually that he minded sitting around with nothing to do, but he knew that his family would have hated seeing him fading away and wallowing in his own guilt. So he went out and did things, even if it was just perimeter checks and the occasional hunt for food.

When he arrived at the house, he walked through every room. It was a ritual of his. He had spent some time in an institution, more like an asylum, before breaking out. That place had felt utterly wrong and there had been something evil in the air. He had drifted around for a bit not wanting to go straight back home where they might be looking for him. After close to a year he figured it was safe to return. There had been an old scent he knew belonged to a couple of nurses working at the institution. They hadn’t been there for months when he returned, so he stayed. Derek used the first couple of months back at the house to remove tags and graffiti left by local gangs or teenagers. He’d also had to scare a couple of teenagers away. They probably thought that they could use his house as a safe place to make out, smoke, and drink and whatever other things that teenagers regularly did. That resulted in teenagers coming to the house to look for the wolf that lived there, most likely to prove something to their friends. He let them stay until the novelty of it all died down. After that, no one came to the house ever again. 

He started moving slowly through the many rooms of the house. He looked at everything, even though he had seen it all before, and searched high and low for things that had survived the fire. He slept in his parent’s room, since it was the least touched by the fire, but it was still badly burned, and the flames had ruined everything in there. The mattress he had salvaged from his baby brother’s room. He had only been seven when the house burned down. Next to the mattress, he had a small pile of all the things he had found that wasn’t too badly burned. 

When he entered what used to be his little sister Cora’s room, his eyes were as always drawn to the small bookcase that once had been a bright and happy yellow. The only thing that still had any color left in the entire room was an old copy of “Alice in Wonderland”. Its back stood out with its deep red color and gold marks. Derek always wondered why it still had it’s color. He clearly remembered how much of the color used to come of whenever he held the book in his hands. It was the only thing not touched by fire that Derek didn’t have with him in his room. It was too painful to take it. When Cora was born, Derek hadn’t exactly been happy. He was angry that he was no longer the youngest child and scared that his parents would prefer Cora to him. As Cora grew older, the two kids enjoyed tormenting each other. 

At some point, their parents had enough of their constant fighting and ordered them to spend time together doing something they both liked. They settled on reading. Derek read many stories to Cora, but their favorite was “Alice in Wonderland”. Cora used to talk about the characters as if they were real. She even gave them other names and altered things she didn’t like about them. The way Cora lived herself into the book drew Derek into the book’s world right alongside her. They had continued their reading even when Cora could read herself and was in her teens. He always read “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the looking glass” to her when she having trouble during the full moon. She didn’t want anyone else to read for her. He had once read to her over the phone while he was away on a basketball camp with his high school team. The last time he had read it, had been the last Christmas he had had with his family. They hadn’t needed a reason, like the full moon. Cora had simply gone to her room and brought the book down into the living room demanding that Derek read some of it to her. The entire family settled in the living room, Laura and Cora curling up next to him on the couch so that they could see the pictures. 

He left the room with a last sad glance at the book, before moving on to Laura’s room. It was by far the most damaged. The roof had caved in and parts of the floor were missing as well as the wall in the direction of the forest. The first time he had been here since the fire, he found a family photo stashed away in an old metal box. That wasn’t in his pile of salvaged things either. It was in his pocket, in case he was forced to leave suddenly and didn’t have time to come back for it. The sun was already setting over the horizon when Derek entered his parent’s room. He had spent every minute after the perimeter check in a haze of memories and meaningless thoughts. The springs in the mattress squeaked as he laid down. There was no food left in the house, so he would have to go either hunting or shopping the next day. Either way he would have to remember the toothbrush, he’d bought so that he could brush his teeth by the lake. He fell asleep still thinking about food, and if he had any toothpaste left. It was better than thinking about everything else. 

_Derek was running. Someone was after him, yelling at him to stop running and give in. It only spurred him to run even faster. He could feel the presence of his chasers as a cold blanket covering his back. Even though his nose informed him that they were in fact human, his mind kept screaming ‘predators’ at him. He was running in a forest, his forest, his territory as the sound of footsteps grew closer and closer. There was mist everywhere, heavy and clouding his vision. Suddenly the world tilted, making Derek fall to his knees feeling nauseous. The sound of whoever was chasing him was gone. It was replaced with the sounds of heavy breathing, but no heartbeats._

_Derek struggled to his feet, and was almost sent to his knees again when he saw what was in front of him. He recognized them all easily. There was a blue caterpillar, a dodo bird, a white rabbit in a waistcoat and a smiling cat. There were many more, but some were clouded in mist. The cat was grey with stripes as red as rubies. They all looked just like Cora had described them, but the Cat stood out the most. Cora had always said that its stripes were the color of their mother’s alpha eyes. Something was different though, the cat was so very thin and it had blood on its teeth. As soon as the creatures saw him looking at them they all opened their mouths as if to yell at him. The sounds that came out sounded like whispers but the volume nearly knocked him backwards. “You have to run. Save us. You have to fix it. Save us. Run! Help us. Help me! Fix it. Run! We’re dying. Heal us. War’s coming! Save us. Help us fix it. Run!” As they spoke the mist slowly cleared, and the sight scared him, more than anything had in a long time. They were all broken, bloodied and beaten. They were horrifying._

_The sound of what was previously chasing him returned. Heavy footsteps, wildly beating hearts now accompanied with a pungent smell of Wolfsbane and gunpowder. The mist slowly crept back to cover the creatures until only the cat was left. It seemed to quickly shift shape into something humanoid, but it happened so fast that even Derek’s eyes couldn’t keep up. The cat smiled at him “Derek you need to wake up and you need to RUN!”_

Derek shot up from the bed, head still mostly in the dream. It took him a minute to realize that the sound of footsteps and the smell of Wolfsbane were still present and very real. The morning air was damp and felt heavy with rain. He only moved from where he stood, when he heard footsteps coming from downstairs. He moved towards Laura’s room as quietly as possible, only just glimpsing the intruders. It was very clear that they were hunters, even if the smell of Wolfsbane hadn’t given them away, their guns and tasers would have given them away in an instant. 

When he reached Laura’s room he was so focused on locating the hunters’ heartbeats that he almost didn’t see something moving in the shadowy corner of the room. However when he moved his head to look in the dark corner, there wasn’t anything there. Meanwhile the hunters were slowly moving up the stairs. It was completely safe and wouldn’t break, but luckily they didn’t know that. It bought him the time he needed to quietly slip past the broken and fallen ceiling beams. The sky was grey when he looked up at it, through the caved in roof. The hunters were getting closer and moving much faster than before. He walked to where there had once been a wall and a big window with a view of the forest. Now the entire wall was missing and the window frame laid broken on the ground beneath. Derek patted the pocket where he kept the folded picture of his family. With the knowledge that it was still there he turned and jumped through the hole and down on the ground. 

He hit the ground running and was already moving towards the forest in a steady pace, when the first of the hunters entered Laura’s room. Usually when he made the jump from the second floor he took his time to make sure that he landed correctly and didn’t sprain anything. It seemed like pure luck that he had landed correctly. Not that a sprain would last for a long time before it healed, but it could still be a setback. Albeit only a minor one. He was almost at the tree line when a painfully familiar voice called out. “DEREK! Stop running, and give in. You need help,” The feminine voice sounded kind and concerned on his behalf, but he could clearly hear the venom and impatience underneath. How he had ever managed to hear anything else continued to perturb him. When he briefly looked over his shoulder, well aware that he shouldn’t, he recognized several of the hunters. Two of them had been nurses at the institution, while the other two had been bodyguards. He saw a flash of blond hair, and forced himself to look away. 

He kept running, glad he didn’t have to look over his shoulder again to determine where the hunters were. He could easily use his ears for that, and avoid the movie cliché where he would fall, and die while looking at the danger. Logically he knew that he should be running to something or trying to find a place to hide, but he didn’t. He just ran on instinct, and followed wherever his wolf lead him. An arrow whistled past his ear as he took a sharp turn and sped up. There was a huge and very old oak tree ahead, which Derek swore he had never seen before despite spending his entire life running around in the forest. For some unknown reason he was certain that this was what he had been running to. Another arrow flew past him this time accompanied by a bullet, Wolfsbane by the smell of it, as he ran to the tree. He ran around the tree, so that he was blocked from the hunters’ view. Everything in him was screaming at him that he shouldn’t move away from the tree. Every instinct told him to go closer to the tree, and touch that very old and beautiful dark brown bark. The hunters were shouting at each other, since they could no longer see him, but they were only in the back of his mind. They no longer seemed important. In that moment, the most important thing seemed to be the tree. It was clear that the tree held some form of magic. His parents had taught him the most essential about magic before they died, but they had never mentioned the magical tree in their territory. Surely, they wouldn’t have allowed any evil magic in their territory.

Derek stepped closer to the tree, almost in a trance like state. He barely noticed the hunters getting nearer. The wind seemed to quiet down, and the birds were all equally quiet in their nests. Mist seemed to come out of nowhere swirling around his ankles. As soon as he pressed his hands to the bark, the feeling of magic changed. It became more familiar, but it also seemed malnourished and sick. It reminded him of the time his human aunt was sick. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. Her scent changed, as well as her body, which became pale, fragile, and so very thin. Even though she was sick, she still smelled like pack and family. It was the same with the magic. 

He had only a second to think ‘this might have been a bad idea’ before the earth moved underneath his feet. The dirt gave away under his weight, but even that had an undercurrent of magic to it. It seemed like a whirlwind was under his feet, and he sank a couple of centimeters down into the ground. A shot rang out in the silence, reminding Derek that he was far from alone or safe. As soon as the bullet flew past, Derek looked down at his feet. It was the last thing he did before the ground opened up and swallowed him.


	2. Falling down the rabbit hole

_He was falling and it was dark. Maybe that was because he had his eyes closed. He didn’t want to open them and see. See all the things that he had read about. See the bed, the dressers and the dirt walls, moving past him with incredible speed as he fell. As he fell down the rabbit hole._

Derek swallowed the lump in his throat, and opened his eyes only to see that he was still falling. ‘This has to be a dream’ he thought as he grappled for something to hold on to or use to slow his fall. He narrowly missed a grandfather clock as it tilted out towards him from its place in the dirt wall. Its chiming echoed of the walls, and it felt like the sound was completely enveloping him. It was dark at the bottom of the hole, so he couldn’t see the ground, but his instincts were telling him that is was rapidly nearing. He closed his eyes and tried his best to brace for impact, hoping that werewolf healing would be enough to keep him alive. ‘Maybe this was all some hallucination from Wolfsbane poisoning and I’m not actually falling’ he mused, but it did nothing to calm him down. 

When he finally hit the ground, the blow was much softer than expected, and not all that harmful. It felt more like falling out of bed than it did falling down a dark long hole. He looked up wondering if some of the things embedded in the tunnel’s walls could help him climb up, but there was no longer any tunnel. The hole he had fallen down was gone, and instead he was looking at a small round table, with a single wooden chair. He only managed to think ‘I’m upside down’ before he was once again falling, though this time it was a considerably smaller distance.

Derek landed besides the table, almost crushing the chair, but thanking his lucky star that he didn’t. He didn’t need splinters and a broken chair on top of everything else. He looked around the room, and tiredly ran a hand across his face. The room was round with the table in the middle, and doors in every shape and size occupying most of the wall, only separated by red drapes, scorched black in some places by fire. He sighed, and it sounded awfully loud in the small room. Of course he recognized the place, how could he not. Pinching his arm didn’t help, but he agreed with himself that he must be dreaming. He willfully ignored how familiar that sounded. A small key was placed on the table. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, but he had a suspicion that it hadn’t been there earlier. He remembered all of this from the story. He had read it once every month, and often more than that. He knew every word written in the book. Something was nagging at the back of his head though. Something wasn’t as it should be, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. 

As he moved around the room, he moved every one of the red drapes aside, to see if there was a small door behind one of them. Behind the fourth drape he moved, there was a small door. He turned towards the table once more, while wiping his ash-blackened hands on his pants. There was a small bottle on the table when Derek turned towards it, but he had been expecting that. He made sure to keep the key in his hand as he examined the label on the bottle. ‘Drink me’ it said. Normally Derek wouldn’t have bothered with looking at the label, but something still seemed different so he was being extra careful. Opening the bottle was a bit difficult while still holding the key in one hand, but Derek wasn’t letting it go. 

He downed the elixir, not knowing if he could expect the same taste as was written in the book. His shoulders slumped in relief, as he tasted cherry tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee and hot buttered toast. The combination shouldn’t work, but it somehow did. The after taste made him cringe. It left a taste of buttered meat, though he didn’t know how he knew that, and something vaguely metallic. Alice had described the shrinking feeling as shutting up like a telescope, and Derek could only agree with her. He felt like he was being compressed so that his entire body could fit in a smaller space. It was uncomfortable, but not altogether painful. 

When it felt like the shrinking had stopped he ran to the door, but the red drape had fallen back in it’s place and was once more covering the door. Derek looked back towards the table, and saw a small case with a cake in it by the table’s leg. He had no particular desire to eat the cake, since it wasn’t mentioned in the book how it tasted. Instead, he chose to dig his way underneath the drape, which actually wasn’t very heavy. Maybe some of his strength had survived the shrinking. The smell of ash was horrid, under the drape, but he found the door handle relatively quickly. As soon as he turned the key, the door opened and he tumbled out through it. 

In the book, there was a beautiful garden on the other side of the door. There were bright flowerbeds and cool fountains. Mushrooms bloomed all over in varying colors and sizes. Light streamed through the leafy trees, and the sky had no clouds. A staircase made from smooth grey stone led the way into the garden, and continued on as a stone pathway. 

Now everything was burned. The entire garden was covered in a thick layer of ash, making the world a sickly grey. Derek slowly got on his feet, absentmindedly wiping his hands on his pants, dragging a trail of grey ash across the otherwise black pants. He could feel his breath coming out in shallow fast puffs that had absolutely nothing to do with his fall. On shaking legs, he took the first couple of steps down the stairs, before he had to stop and close his eyes. Even though it was only a dream he didn’t want to see Wonderland like this. This had been the last link he had had to his little sister, and now that had burned too. The fire had spared nothing. 

The fountains were broken; their marble chipped and entire pieces of marble were littering the ground. Whatever water had been there was long gone. Leafs covered the ground under each of the tall trees, and the trees themselves looked sick. Even more so than the old tree that had called to him with its magic. He slowly made his way down the stairs and into the garden, each step made it feel like a blanked of ash was covering him. As he forced himself to look around, he somehow felt like this too was all his fault. The further he went the more the garden changed around him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for the better. 

When he reached a part of the garden brimming with mushrooms and flowers towering over him he stopped. There was a small patch of green grass under one of the mushrooms, and Derek couldn’t stop staring at it. It had most likely been protected by the mushroom and was therefore not as affected by the ash. He had been staring at the grass for close to a whole minute when he suddenly heard something. Further, down the path there was a flowerbed with five gargantuan ash covered flowers. Derek took a deep, not that calming breath, when he realized what kind of flowers they were. There was a tiger-lily, a rose, a daisy, a violet and a larkspur. Exactly like the flowers Alice talked to in the story. He focused on his hearing, and very faintly, he could hear water running through their stems. Hopefully that meant that they weren’t dead, just in some form of hibernation. Derek looked at them for a moment longer before he continued down the road. As he walked, the garden turned into what had clearly once been a magnificent forest. Without their leaves, the trees looked frightening, but somehow seemed sad as well. The majority of the trees were burned husks, and whatever beauty the forest had ever possessed was replaced with an eerie and depressing vibe. 

Ever since he fell down the rabbit hole, he had been on edge. He kept telling himself that he was just dreaming, but it felt real, and frankly he was having trouble believing that his mind created all of this. He was on edge, so he kept his senses sharp and awake. He didn’t have time to dwell on everything that he had seen. It was because of this he suddenly startled, when he heard a heartbeat ahead. It was so very close. It had appeared so abruptly as if its owner had just manifested out of thin air. As he continued towards the almost trance inducing heartbeat another sound overpowered it. Derek thought that it might be purring, but he couldn’t be sure. The purring stopped and so did Derek, when he reached the place from where the sound had been coming from. It had stopped has suddenly as it started.

“Hello, and who might you be? I swear I’ve never seen you before”

Startled, Derek looked upwards where a thin dark grey and red cat was sitting on a gnarled and twisted branch. The red stripes were as red as Derek’s own alpha eyes, but so were the blood that was caked in the cat’s fur. It had bald spots on the side of its body, where it also had scars after what appeared to be claws. It took way to long for Derek to shake himself out of his stupor and realize that it had asked a question. He opened his mouth with every intention of answering, preferably in a somewhat threatening way, but all that came out of his mouth was “Stiles!?!” He was too busy wondering why he could still remember the name Cora gave the Cheshire cat to notice the shocked expression on the cat’s face. 

“Yes. How do you know my name? Who are you? Surely you can’t be? But you must be.” The Cat, Stiles, rambled. Derek ignored the nonsense it was talking and decided to ask a question of his own instead. He was the alpha after all. “Where am I? Is this real?”

“Well, of course it’s real. I’m not entirely sure you are though. We’ve already had our Alice, but you must be one as well. You are an Alice” Stiles declared looking rather sure of himself.

“What? Of course I’m real! And I’m no Alice. My name is Derek.” Derek answered flustered.

The cat, Stiles, Derek reminded himself, looked way too pleased as he floated down in front of Derek. A strong wind blew against Derek’s face helping him clear his head. It also brought Stiles’ scent with it, which was weird. He didn’t smell like cats normally would, but more like home and magic. It was an unsettling discovery, as so much else here had been. “Well congratulations Derek! You’re an Alice!” He said with a shit eating grin. Derek was so unnerved by seeing a cat smiling like that, that he once again took some extra time to process what had been said. Apparently, he took too long to answer because Stiles started talking again. 

“Well, you’re an Alice, not the Alice. There’s a difference, but lets just say that you’re one of many Alices. Normally there is only one Alice per Wonderland, or is it the other way around? I never get it right. Never mind. We already had our Alice” Stiles’ dark eyes turned distant and seemed to flash beta like gold before he continued in a quiet and sad whisper “But she is never coming back”

Derek swallowed back a well of feelings as he slowly got an idea of whom Stiles was talking about. He considered asking about it, but he convinced himself that he didn’t really want to know. He was standing in what appeared to be Wonderland talking with a Cheshire cat named Stiles, who looked just like his dead sister had described him. Asking and being answered would make things far too real. For now, Derek could just pretend that he was dreaming. He looked over at where Stiles had been, only to see that he was already gone. Derek could hear Stiles’ heartbeat again, and it had started up as suddenly as the first time. He started walking again and the sound of the heartbeat followed. The purring from earlier started up again just as Derek reached a small clearing with a huge old cottage. The paint was falling off and some of the windows were broken, but it looked like it had once been a lovely home. The chimney was broken as well, but still blowing smoke. 

“Where are you going? You can’t go to that house. Not without a present at least” Stiles said.

“Why? Who lives there?” Derek asked, trying to sniff the air for a scent as subtly as possible. He probably didn’t need to be subtle here of all places, but old habits die hard, and Derek didn’t really like changing up his patterns. Especially not when he wasn’t in his territory anymore. 

“I live there! However, I don’t own the house, I help with the cooking. My dad works there as the cook, but he’s a terrible cook, and everyone knows that she just hired him because… you know what never mind! My best friend used to live here with me and after that at an old windmill down the road, but he still had time for me back then, even with his little pack. Anyhow, now he’s all cozy with the White Queen and mostly lives in her castle…. I forgot what I was going to say…” Stiles rambled

Derek was still sorting through all the new information when he suddenly pieced it together. “This is the Duchess’ house, isn’t it? The book never mentioned why you lived with the Duchess, but the cook is your father. I thought the cook was a woman?” Just as he asked, something triggered his memory and he remembered Cora persistently rolling her eyes and correcting him every time he read about the cook. Stiles just stared at him, while his tail flicked back and forth. Derek nervously rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, but stopped as soon as he realized he was doing it. “You eh… you said something about a gift?” Derek said fighting a strong urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“Right! You need to give them a gift, and I know just the thing. There is a drove of pigs in the clearing five minutes from here. Or is it a herd of pigs? Do you say herd?” Stiles asked, and somehow managed to make his following purr sound confused.

“I… don’t know” Derek answered feeling a bit lost “So pigs? Let me guess you want me to get you some pig snouts, right?” Derek asked, thinking of different ways to get his hands on some pig snouts or if he could just bring the entire pig as a gift. 

“Pig snouts! Whatever would we do with them? Do you eat that where you’re from? No we want bacon! Well it’s mostly for me and the duchess, my dad can’t have bacon, or salt! That’s why he’s so obsessed with pepper. My bad!” Stiles said sounding bewildered as to why Derek thought they wanted pig snouts, but also weirdly enthusiastic about his role in his dad’s pepper addiction. 

“Bacon?” Stiles nodded “Okay, is it okay if I just catch an entire pig for you guys? That way you can have all the bacon and the meat as well” Stiles just nodded again before his head started floating past the house and into the woods once again. Derek followed Stiles into the woods with one last backwards glance at the house. He was so focused on the house that he didn’t see the wind blowing away the ash from some of the trees leaving spring green leafs in its wake.


	3. Spotted pigs and pepper sneezes

The walk to the clearing took about five minutes as Stiles had said, but he’d forgotten to mention that there was a swamp in between the house and the clearing where the pigs lived. He looked apologetic every time Derek looked at him, but he had this feeling that Stiles had found the entire thing exceedingly entertaining. 

When they arrived at the clearing, Derek was soaked, muddied and found it very plausible that he had multiple twigs in his hair. They were still hidden by the enormous trees, and Derek could see movement ahead. He slowly inched closer, careful not to make too much sound. When the pigs came fully into view, Derek involuntarily slowed even further. The pigs were partially covered in ash and mud, but the most noticeable about them were that they had big green dots all over their bodies. The parts of them that weren’t green were grey, but Derek wasn’t sure if that was just the ash. The pigs were grazing, lazily turning up the ground in an attempt to get to the grass buried beneath the grey ash. 

Derek moved as close to the pigs as he dared, mindful to keep quiet. He was also currently downwind. Normal pigs didn’t have the sense of smell to notice him, but he would rather be sure, than having to chase pigs throughout the surrounding swaps. Derek pulled of his shirt, well aware that it was already a lost cause, but not wanting it to restrict his movement. He heard a sharp intake of breath, and was momentarily annoyed, but when he looked to Stiles he found that he wasn’t looking at him. Stiles was watching the pigs with an unprecedented focus, that Derek quite honestly hadn’t thought him capable of, despite only having known him for less than an hour. 

Derek shifted into his beta-form right before he leaped into the clearing, fully prepared to jump the nearest pig when it ran away from him. Only it didn’t run from him, it ran towards him. Derek dodged just as the pig would have rammed into him. “Stiles what the hell?” Derek yelled, as the pig turned and started chasing him again, but this time Derek simply prepared his claws and barred his teeth. Stiles just laughed quietly from where he was laying on a branch in the edge of the clearing. 

When the pig ran by, Derek quickly swung himself on its back, trying to force its head into the ground. The pig was surprisingly strong, and carried Derek’s weight for a couple of steps before it collapsed under his weight. “Stiles!?! How am I supposed to get this back to the cottage?” Derek asked, while trying to keep the squirming pig from running away or biting him. 

“You need to tickle it. On the green spots! Keep away from the grey parts, that’ll send some unfortunate messages” Stiles chipped.

“Tickle it?” Derek wanted to ask, but he was interrupted when the pig bucked underneath him. He sighed, cursing his oncoming madness, before he started tickling the pig. When he reached for the third spot the pig started humming, and it sounded disturbingly human. The pig had stopped moving, so Derek deemed it safe to move from his position on the ground. The pig was still lying on the ground, humming and breathing deeply, so Derek bend down and lifted it over his shoulders. “Ticklish pigs? Really?” Derek couldn’t help but ask. Stiles just grinned, “Why do you think it’s called a ticklish spot?” Derek looked at Stiles for a second, debating whether or not he should bother with answering the question, before deciding against it. 

Walking back to the house took close to thirty minutes this time, since Derek had to carry the pig over his shoulders, taking time to tickle it some more on the way. When they reached the house Stiles disappeared, and not knowing what to do, Derek just started towards the house. As he walked closer to the cottage he realized how huge it really was. When he had walked past the house, it had looked gigantic, but the closer he came to the house, the more it grew. It looked like a giant’s house. He was still trying to reach the doorknob, when the door swung open almost causing him to fall forward and into the person standing on the other side of the door. Derek barely reached the woman’s knees and when he tipped his head back, the only thing he really saw was a yellow dress with red flowers. He almost dropped the pig from his shoulders when a hand reached down and gently lifted him into the air. He had to fight every instinct not to lash out and bite, but his more human side told him that he should just keep still.

The door closed behind them, as Derek was carried into what appeared to be a kitchen. He used the time to study who might be the duchess. She was beautiful, with dark wavy hair and a gentle smile, but she also looked worn. She was sickly pale and had dark circles under her eyes. She was the complete opposite of the duchess described in the book. She sat him down on the kitchen table, easily taking the pig from his shoulders and putting it in a small pot. The kitchen table was covered in pepper, and Derek had to brush some away from his shoes, causing him to sneeze. 

When she turned to Derek he was still standing where she had put him down, only taking a step back when she sat down on a chair across from him. While she was standing, he had been able to see her entire body, which included the bloodied fringes on her dress. “You’re awfully small! Stiles said that you’re an Alice, and I think he might be right. I’ve never seen you before, but then again I forgot about the raven” She said, and Derek had no idea why she was mentioning a raven, but she was supposed to be mad after all. 

“I drank something earlier” Derek offered, knowing that she was seeing the effects of the ‘drink me’ potion.

“Yes, he drank some Pishsalver to get through the door and into the garden” Stiles purred from where he was suddenly sitting next to Derek. He was much larger now that he had been earlier, and Derek felt more like a mouse than a wolf. 

“Pishsalver” Derek stated, trying to pronounce the unfamiliar word. The Duchess must have thought it a question since she nodded her head and gave an explanation. “Yes, that makes sense. Pishsalver is what the young call the potion. I’m not quite sure that I like it…. Anyway I have some cake” Stiles interrupted her to say ‘Upelkuchen’ earning a stern and motherly glare from the duchess. “I have some cake that will make you grow. Stiles baked some just last night” she said as she rummaged around in a cupboard. 

The duchess muttered something that sounded like ‘ another one night stand… Will that girl never learn’ and Derek was sure that he wouldn’t have heard anything had he not been a werewolf. When the duchess turned to face them again, she had a small white cake in her hand. She took one look at it and gave Stiles his second glare of the evening, but this time Derek had a feeling that it was just for show. By chance, Derek looked towards the cupboard just in time to see a small white mouse run over the kitchen counter towards the kitchen window. It looked like it was trying to fix a tie on its way through the window’s broken glass. Derek turned to Stiles wanting to ask him about it, but the cat merely smirked at him. At least he thought it was a smirk. 

The duchess cleared her throat in a manner that was so similar to his mother that Derek immediately shifted his attention to her. She was holding out the cake, the Upelkuchen, for Derek to eat. Since he was looking at it from a weird angle, it took him some time to decipher the writing that was on top. Instead of the traditional ‘eat me’ known from the book Stiles had written ‘bite me’ on the cake in beautiful calligraphy. Derek smiled a bit at that, but he quickly tried to cover it up by taking a huge bite of the cake. Chocolate was the first taste, and after that came raspberry, caramelized popcorn and some vanilla. It had the same horrible aftertaste as the potion though. 

Derek felt like something grabbed ahold of every inch of his body and pulled in different directions, but once again it wasn’t particularly painful just unfamiliar and disorienting. When the room stopped spinning, Derek was sitting on the kitchen table and able to look slightly down at the duchess, who was still smiling. “Good, now that you’re the proper size we can properly greet each other and shake fingers” she said.

“Shake fingers? How do you do that” Derek asked, having given up on trying to make sense of everything.

The duchess held out her hand, just like if Derek was going to shake it, and motioned for him to do the same. Then she laced their fingers in a way that should have been more intimate, but somehow had the exact same feel to it as a regular handshake. “I am Melissa McCall, the duchess and ruler of this province. I officially greet you as our Alice, and may the past never repeat itself and the future happen as it should” Her words sounded rehearsed and rather formal for some reason. Derek had no idea what to say to that so he simply said “Derek” and shook her hand or well fingers. The duchess, Melissa, smiled so it couldn’t have been the completely wrong thing to say.

“And of course you already know Stiles. By the way Stiles, your dad told me to tell you that he was called upon to consult on a case of great importance by the white knight.” Stiles simply smiled at the duchess as if it was completely ordinary that his father, a cook, was called upon in matters that were basically police work. 

Derek spent the entire evening listening to Melissa and Stiles talk. They told him stories of their lives, old children stories and anything else that they could think of. Granted, many of the jokes that Stiles told made no sense, but it didn’t matter. It had been a long time since he had felt so calm and at peace. The last time was with his family. Normally, whenever Derek was reminded of his family, it was accompanied with grief and so much guilt that it made him unable to think of anything else. While sitting in a broken and old cottage, on foreign land, between two creatures that should by no means exist, he found that the grief and guilt could be pushed aside for another time. 

When it was time for bed, Melissa offered him the couch, which was already made, despite Melissa not leaving to do so at any time. He should have found it odd that there was already a bed ready, but he was too tired to think properly. He laid on the couch trying to fall asleep when Stiles who was lying next to the couch spoke up “You said that you’re dreaming. Are you going to wake up now? Will you leave?” Derek must have contemplated the question for too long, because when he looked down at Stiles to answer the cat was fast asleep. Derek fell asleep shortly after, dreaming of pale skin and golden eyes.


	4. The best man

When Derek awoke the next morning, he kept his eyes closed, letting the scents of the room fill his nose. There was a familiar smell of old metal and burnt wood, but there was also something else. Some smell, not quite familiar, but still so much like home that it made Derek’s heart beat faster. A loud crash sounded somewhere ahead of where Derek was lying and it made him jump up from his mattress ready to fight whoever had invaded his house. 

However, since Derek wasn’t home and definitely wasn’t lying on a mattress he tumbled off the couch and nearly crushed Stiles who awoke hissing, hooking his claws into Derek’s shoulder. Footsteps where rapidly nearing and Derek looked up from where Stiles had gone completely still, and had thankfully retracted his claws, just to see an older man with sandy blond hair and blue eyes throw a wooden spoon at his head. The spoon bounced off Derek’s head just as the man yelled, “Get of my son, you pepper sneezing red loving wolf” The man yelled and Derek couldn’t help but growl at him. The growl earned him a swipe of claws from Stiles at the same time the duchess arrived, wearing a clean new dress, and smacked Stiles’ father on the back of his head. “You simply startled him John! He doesn’t want to hurt Stiles and I am absolutely sure that he is not red loving or I wouldn’t have let Stiles invite him here” Melissa said with an air of finality. 

Stiles’ father, John, huffed and stumped back into the kitchen. Melissa rolled her eyes at his back and Derek looked down at Stiles catching him doing the same. “Stiles honey” Melissa said “Could you please go into the kitchen and make sure that your father doesn’t poison us” Stiles winked at her before he disappeared from underneath Derek, but soon after his heartbeat reappeared in the kitchen. Melissa moved closer and sat on the couch, as Derek slowly got on his feet and joined her. “We don’t know how he does it. His mother had a certain spark, that’s for sure, but there has never been anyone like him before” It took almost no time at all for Derek to figure out that she was talking about Stiles, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, it was because his mind was already occupied with Stiles. 

“What did his father mean when he said ‘red loving’?” Derek asked because for some reason that particular part of the insult stood out to him. 

“Ah, yes. Red is a very unlucky color here. It represents everything bad, cruel and heartless in this land. The Queen of Hearts is a menace and poisonous to everything around her. She is the embodiment of ungovernable passion. A blind and aimless fury. Red is her color, even though she stole it some time ago from The Red Queen.” Melissa’s face was grim and filled with a sorrow that Derek did not fully understand. 

“I thought that The Queen of Hearts and The Red Queen where the same person?” Derek remembered discussing the matter with Cora whenever they read ‘Through the looking glass’. 

“They’re not. The Red Queen is also fury, but of another type. Her passion is cold and calm. She is formal and strict, yet not unkind. She’s the concentrated essence of all governesses. Red was her color first, and in some ways Stiles’ which had him running after her for a while, convinced that they should be together. When she got married to The Red King, he put his infatuation behind him and they’re now good friends, much to the annoyance of the King. After The Queen of Hearts seized power people around here forgot about the previous owners of the color red. The Red Queens reputation suffered a blow, but she is so respected and loved that people tend to overlook her connection with red. Stiles though, has always been an outcast, skirting the edges more than most with his love of traveling between worlds. The Red in his fur makes him a pariah, even though he hates The Queen of Hearts just as much as everyone else.” Melissa cast a sad glance towards the kitchen, where Derek could hear Stiles loudly joking with his dad. Derek was about to ask another question, or just say something concerning what Melissa had just shared with him, he wasn’t sure which, when Stiles bounded into the room while still in midair. It looked like he was running on air, and it made Derek pause and stare at him. 

“My dad would like to speak with you Melissa” Stiles said, jumping onto the couch next to Derek. Melissa excused herself and went into the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind her Stiles gave Derek his full attention. “What do you know about clothes?” he asked Derek.

If Derek knew what he would be put through afterwards, he never would have mentioned the various fashion shows and fashion tips his sisters had forced on him when he was younger. As it was Stiles simply smiled a bit evilly. Derek was forced to spend almost an hour helping Stiles pick out a suit, even though he wouldn’t say what or who it was for. When they finally managed to pick a suit, Stiles sighed and rubbed his paw against the fabric. 

“Derek would you mind accompanying me on some errands today? My best friend is getting married in a couple of days and as the best man I have some things I need to take care of.” Stiles questioned, clearly trying to keep some form of anxiety at bay. Derek shrugged and said “sure” not really understanding why Stiles felt the need to ask for his help. He reached the conclusion that something can’t happen in a dream if the dreamer isn’t present. This time when Stiles smiled, it was a different smile. It was small, sincere, and so very different from his usual toothy smile. It made something in Derek’s stomach flutter. ***

They set out after noon, because Melissa had insisted that they stay for lunch, which Stiles made for all of them. He rolled his eyes, but looked fond, so Derek reckoned that he didn’t really mind. The spotted pig that Derek had caught the previous day had only been slightly bigger that a canned coke, but somehow there was enough meat for all of them. Derek had no idea how they pulled it off, but it was enough to feed his werewolf hunger so he didn’t ask. Melissa also insisted that they both bring some food and a change of clothes, though Stiles probably just packed an extra blanket instead of clothes.

Their first stop was an old abandoned windmill only thirty minutes away. As they walked down the road, and into the forest Derek noticed that the scars on Stiles’ side had healed, and that the fur was slowly returning. Just when he was about to mention it Stiles started talking again. Stiles would sometimes ask him questions that Derek just answered with a grunt or a single word, but it didn’t seem to annoy Stiles. Back in the mental institution, the staff and even the other patients found his silence and unwillingness to communicate annoying and frustrating. They were never mad at the patients who couldn’t speak, but they knew that Derek could speak and apparently that meant that he had to. Derek had never been the most talkative in the family, but his family had always listened to him and understood what his silence meant. Stiles was the same way, and it both exited and terrified him. 

As they walked through the forest, Derek once more noticed some green patches of grass covered by various trees. Stiles seemed to notice as well, but he didn’t comment on it. There was a huge river ahead, with muddied water and a powerful current. Derek wondered whether or not Stiles planned for him to swim across, or if there was another way for him to cross. They walked alongside the river, and for the first time during their walk Stiles was quiet. The difference it made, that he was no longer talking was startling, and it unnerved Derek how quickly he had become accustomed to the sound of Stiles’ voice. Stiles stopped suddenly, when they reached an old bridge, which was missing its middle part. There was moss growing all over the rubble and it had clearly been collapsed for a long time. 

“This bridge used to be overrun by people at all times. There was always a flurry of activity and travelers looking to trade their goods all over wonderland. Then the Queen of Hearts invaded the Red castle and everyone fled” Derek turned to look at him, hearing something beyond sad in his voice. He had a horrible feeling that something had happened here. Something other than what Stiles had just said. “What happened here?” he asked as he took in his surroundings. The ash-filled water was running almost directly beneath their feet, continuing in between the burned trees of the forest. Stiles’ eyes flashed beta like gold, just like the day before, as Stiles sighed and motioned his head for Derek to follow him over the bridge. Derek opted to keep his mouth shut, fighting the unfamiliar feeling of curiosity. Derek slipped on a moss-covered rock, foot landing in the ice-cold ashy water of the river, making Stiles smile. It made Derek entertain the idea of purposefully slipping again just to see him smile some more, but he discarded the idea when he realized exactly what he was thinking. 

They continued on the stone path for another ten minutes, before they reached the windmill. It was as burned and desolate as the rest of Wonderland. One of the wings were broken, only connected to the rest of the mill by some of the remaining canvas. It was looming over Derek, threatening to fall at any time. He wanted to ask what they were looking for, but he kept quiet, even though he kept wondering what sort of wedding errand this was. 

Stiles quietly motioned for Derek to stop, and disappeared into the mill. He couldn’t hear Stiles from inside the windmill, not even his heartbeat, and it made Derek wonder if Stiles had simply disappeared again. Why had Stiles even bothered to bring him? Wouldn’t he be able to simply manifest, teleport or whatever he did, to the mill without walking through the forest with him? Something startling close to suspicion reared its head, but it was quickly dismissed by another and stronger feeling; almost like a previously unknown instinct. 

The door to the mill opened, squeaking on its hinges, and Stiles floated down so that he was sitting beside Derek looking at the mill. He had some ash in the fur of his tail, from where it grazed the door. “This place used to be full of colors once. Our previous Alice and I painted it one day while its inhabitants weren’t home. She painted the door this horrendous yellow color, it was so very bright, but she said that it was the exact same color as the doorway she had used to come visit us. God Scott, that’s my best friend, he was furious! But only at me” Stiles said, looking fondly at the mill. 

As they walked away from the mill, Stiles seemed to have regained some of his cheerfulness. He was talking Derek’s ear of, but he didn’t mind, which still perturbed him. They stopped at a stream so that Derek could drink some water, but after examining it, he decided not to. “Where are we going Stiles” Derek asked, while still studying the ash filled water. There were some weird luminous rocks at the bottom at the stream, which were visible even through the gritty water. 

“Do you ever use punctuations? Are exclamation and question marks even a thing for you?” Derek simply rolled his eyes at Stiles, before asking the question again, deliberately growling it out. Stiles looked like he was fighting an urge to roll his eyes as well, and Derek had a feeling that that was going to be a theme. 

“We are just going to pick out one more thing, and then we can head to the wedding. Assuming that you want to come with me? You don’t have to of course, I’m not making you. I just thought it would be fun, and you can meet some of my friends, and Jackson. He’s a douchebag, but still kind of my friend, for no good reason. Of course you don’t have to, it’s a long journey and all…. So, stupid question, I’ll just guide you to the house” Stiles rambled, but he stopped abruptly when Derek raised an eyebrow at him. Derek wanted to make a ‘cat got your tongue’ joke, be then he remembered that he doesn’t joke, and that Stiles probably wouldn’t understand it anyway. “It’s fine Stiles, I would like to go to the wedding” Derek felt like he had just agreed to go to the prom with Stiles, and suddenly felt exceptionally awkward. “So where are we going now?” he asked, trying to get the awkward feeling to go away. Stiles simply smiled his Cheshire cat smile and lead Derek further into the forest. 

***

“What are those?”

Derek was looking at an entire field of what appeared to mushrooms, but they were glowing a warm golden light. They were round and much larger than normal mushrooms, approximately 15 inches in diameter. Granted, they only appeared large when not compared to some of the other mushrooms in Wonderland. 

“They’re called Lycoperdon giganteum, and when they are grouped like this we call it a memory field. If you crush one they turn to dust. This dust have the ability to bring back a person’s forgotten memories of Wonderland. I… I want to give Scott a specific memory from our childhood.” Stiles suddenly looked nervous, and Derek not knowing what to do offered him a small smile, which seemed to calm him. Derek looked at the field, feeling an intense longing at the thought he might be able to use these mushrooms to regain some lost memories of his family. The longing must have been easily seen on his face because stiles sighed “Derek… they can only be used by someone to relive their memories of Wonderland, not just any memory. I’m sorry, I didn’t think” Stiles muttered. Derek just hung his head, hating himself for getting his hope up. “You can still try it if you want? I can’t guarantee that it’ll work, but it might if you have a bond of some sorts with the person whose memories you are reliving.” Stiles offered, looking hopefully at Derek.

Derek gave a small nod of his head, knowing that the mushrooms wouldn’t work. He had no pack and therefore no pack bond, or any other kind of bond for that matter. Stiles offered a mushroom to Derek, who took it, mindful of Stiles’ claws. They both crushed their mushrooms between their hands at the same time, creating an extensive amount of copper colored dust. The last thing Derek heard was Stiles coughing before he started dreaming. 

_Derek was standing in front of the old windmill, it was no longer broken, but it didn’t have any color yet. People were passing by him, and even through him, not even looking in his direction. He continued walking towards the mill, noticing an extravagant sign that said ‘Hats for sale’. The entire scene was bursting with color, all the trees, the flowers and the many colorfully clad creatures. There was only a pinch of ash in the air, but it had yet to settle on the ground. As Derek looked around, he thought he saw a flash of long dark brown hair, but it was gone as soon as he blinked. A frantic and panicked heartbeat caught Derek’s attention, and he unconsciously moved towards the familiar sound. He had thought he would see the memory from a person’s point of view, but evidently, that wasn’t the case, which meant he had no idea whose memory he was reliving._

_The edges of the clearing where blurred, and it looked as if the trees where made of smoke. They kept disappearing, dispersing into the air, whenever he looked directly at them. It was eerie, and for the first time since Stiles had found him Derek felt completely at a loss. Another person passed through him, and Derek expected to feel cold, like it was a movie ghost, but he felt nothing at all. These people walking around, looking at hats, weren’t ghosts, they just simply weren’t._

_He kept following the sound of the heartbeat until another sound overpowered it. People were screaming and yelling at something or someone that Derek couldn’t see. They were forming a semicircle, backing whoever was at the center up against a wall. People not involved in the screaming simply walked away, as if nothing was happening. As he went to push his way through the crowd, his hand went straight through them. He shrugged and continued until he reached the center of the semicircle._

_A small ball of grey fur, with streaks of red blood, was lying on the ground. A rock came flying through the air, obviously thrown by one of the bystanders. At his left a group of kids burst out laughing as the rock bounced of the furry creature, leaving a nasty gash on its side. When the creature looked up, Derek was immediately ashamed that he hadn’t recognized Stiles. Granted he was much younger, and yet not quite a kitten. “Why don’t you just disappear! Run away!” The kids hollered at Stiles, causing a visible shiver to run through him. Stiles golden eyes flickered between the kids and the adults, who were all laughing. His beautiful golden eyes had a haunted look and he looked so miserable that Derek could feel his heart clenching in sympathy. Stiles screwed his eyes shut, while still shaking all over. He was clearly trying to disappear, following the kids’ ‘advice’, but when he only managed to make his body disappear, the otherwise dying laughter received new life._

_Derek wanted to gather Stiles to his chest and carry him out if there, maybe punch a few of the people of the way, but he knew that he couldn’t. This was nothing more than a bad memory, in which Derek was intruding. He had no right to see this, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. It could have been seconds or hours, but at some point the bullies left, presumably out of boredom. Their last taunt was still hanging in the air, haunting Derek as much as Stiles. ‘Why won’t you just disappear! You red loving filth’ they yelled. Derek couldn’t help but wonder where Stiles’ best friend Scott was during all of this. He owned the windmill after all. Stiles sniffled and licked his wounds, to the point where it was impossible to distinguish the blood from the natural red color of Stiles’ fur._

_Stiles was still lying near the mill, and people kept walking past him. Normally Derek would say that they were trying to ignore him, but it seemed as if they didn’t need to try at all. The blurred edges of the forest came nearer, until Derek could see nothing but Stiles. Everything else was enveloped in dense grey mist. The mist kept creeping closer, threatening to envelope Derek as well. He tried to shake it off from where it was pooling at his feet, but the mist kept climbing up his legs, leaving a moist and cold feeling in its wake. The last thing Derek saw was a flash of long brown hair, and then the mist engulfed him and he could see nothing at all._


	5. The mad hatters wedding

Derek awoke slowly; feeling like his head was filled with cotton. He had yet to open his eyes, when he registered an unfamiliar, but altogether pleasant, warm pressure on his chest. The pressure was accompanied with purring, so Derek had a good idea of who was lying on him. For some reason he couldn’t smell Stiles, but chalked it up to some sort of side effect from the mushrooms. 

Stiles’ fur was incredibly soft, Derek noted, unaware that he had even moved his hand so that it could rest on Stiles’ back. How could he not have noticed how soft his fur was before? Maybe it was because he hadn’t actually touched Stiles before. Not like this anyway. It felt nice; like being with family or like the puppy piles he used to participate in when he was younger. When Stiles started stirring, Derek quickly removed his hand. He couldn’t believe that he had done that. He never voluntarily touched anyone anymore, and had no idea what had just come over him. The pressure disappeared as Stiles quietly stepped to the ground, but Derek could still feel the warmth of him on his chest. 

“Here take this. You never know when you might need some more of this stuff” Stiles said, dumping some more mushrooms on Derek’s chest. “Derek, we need to get moving if we don’t wanna be late”

Derek slowly got to his feet, still feeling a bit woozy, but head clearing up by the second. He took the mushrooms, careful not to squash them, and placed them in his backpack. “Where are we going then” When he looked up from his backpack he found that Stiles were nowhere in sight. Derek couldn’t hear or smell him either, so it appeared that he had simply disappeared again. It was possible that he had grown tired of traveling with someone who actually had to walk where he wanted to go. He waited for a minute, but it didn’t seem like Stiles was coming back. 

The sun was low on the sky, and they had used more time in the clearing than Derek had previously thought. He continued in the direction they were headed in before they stopped by the mushrooms, and hoped that he was going the right way. Derek doubted that there were any major dangers, other than getting lost, but when he thought of both the Bandersnatch and the Jabberwocky, he decided that he should probably hurry. When he reached the tree line he heard a faint purring coming from the left, and as he went in that direction he couldn’t stop himself from smiling just the tiniest bit. He just hoped that Stiles didn’t see it.

They travelled for a long time, but Derek wouldn’t be able to tell how many hours it was, if someone were to ask him, since it appeared that the sun was now higher in the sky than it was when he started out from the clearing. He wanted to ask Stiles about it, but knew that he would only get a long, confusing and nonsense full answer. Once again, they stopped at a river, this time so that Derek could wash some of the ash from his hair and soot from his face. His clothes were ruined, indefinitely with his luck, from ‘sleeping’ in the clearing. 

Derek was just about to ask Stiles for a break, because even with his werewolf stamina he was beginning to feel the toll of the hike when Stiles abruptly materialized himself in front of Derek. He had remained invisible and quiet for the entire walk, only purring whenever Derek started walking in the wrong direction. The silence was unlike Stiles, and suited him badly, but if he had seen the same memory as Derek had while under the mushrooms’ influence, his silence was understandable.

“The castle is just ahead, but I have to warn you that most people might not like you. It’s nothing personal, but they might just possibly doubt that you’re our Alice, as you’re the second one, and since you arrive there with me they might like you even less. Well, I say ‘might’, but I’m actually quite sure.”

It was the first time Derek had heard Stiles talk during the entire walk, and it made something settle in him. He didn’t mind people not liking him. It wouldn’t be any different from after the fire when he lived in Beacon Hills or at the mental institution. “I’m sure it’ll be fine Stiles” he said, mostly because Stiles had been looking at him expectantly. 

They rounded a corner, leaving the woods behind them, and Derek was faced with an enormous, yet extremely elegant, castle. The pathway to the castle was wide and consisted of small white pebbles. Each side of the road was adorned with beautiful cherry trees and behind them were wide open fields of green grass. 

“Welcome to Marmoreal. It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Stiles asked. “Yeah” Derek breathed, before he could stop himself from responding. There wasn’t even a speck of ash in the air, and it made Derek’s heart feel lighter than it had in years.

“Would you believe me if I told you that this is just the back entrance” Stiles said, smiling like only a cat could, or maybe he was smiling in a way that was uniquely Stiles. Derek couldn’t tell, since Stiles was the only smiling cat that he had ever met. Derek wanted to ask why they were coming in the back entrance, but he knew the answer to that and didn’t feel any need to ruin Stiles’ improved mood. “What does the front entrance look like then?”

Stiles smiled at him as they walked closer to the castle, which was already now towering over them. Stiles started describing the mountain rock bridge leading to the castle, its huge gate, the many spires and the green-checkered grass surrounding it. As they walked through the castle gate a group a women walked by. Their skin were as milky white as their hair and their clothes. They wore dark eye makeup, which gave them a hostile look, but that might have something to do with the malice in their eyes as well. When they saw Derek their eyes turned flirtatious, he looked to Stiles, trying to express his discomfort; only Stiles wasn’t there anymore. It seemed to be a pattern. 

The women kept standing in the courtyard eyeing him up, and he was seriously considering flashing his alpha eyes at them, hoping that the red color would be enough to scare them away. One of the women stepped forward, eyes so predatory, and so much like Kate’s, that he had to fight against an urge to take a step back. He forced his mind away from thoughts of Kate, knowing that way lay only grief and regret. 

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?” She asked voice sweet and flirtatious. Her vanilla perfume was enough to make Derek cringe subtly and wrinkle his nose. He still had no idea who she was, and normally he didn’t care if he made a good first impression, but he knew of the tendency to behead people without valid reasons. In addition, they could be some of Stiles’ friends, though he really hoped they weren’t.

“Hey Derek! I got us checked in, and told Scott you’d be attending as well” Stiles said, sounding enthusiastic at the beginning, but his enthusiasm quickly died out as he spoke, when he saw the women. The look in their eyes when they looked upon Stiles, reminded Derek of the vision he had had causing him to involuntarily growl at them under his breath. It seemed that Stiles heard him growling, because he looked at him with surprise and glee in his golden eyes. The women clearly felt the threatening vibe that Derek was giving of towards them, because they all narrowed their eyes at him simultaneously. It was eerie how connected the women seemed to be. The woman closest to them, the one that had asked Derek a question, huffed in disgust and turned on her heel, walking towards the castle. As she passed the other women, they did the same and followed her, so that the sound of five pair of shoes clicking against stone echoed against the castle walls. 

“Always nice talking with you countess Lacie!” Stiles shouted after them, making them all stomp their shoes even harder against the stone path until they reached the castle. Derek cast Stiles a questioning look, but Stiles simply shook his head. 

“As I said, people here don’t really like me, but it’s not like they can say it to my face anymore. Not after everything, I have done for them. Come on we need to get inside” Stiles made his way towards the castle gate, not giving Derek any chance to ask his many questions. Derek couldn’t help but be curious whenever Stiles said something that didn’t quite make sense or add up. Normally, Derek wasn’t one to let curiosity take over, since he had dealt with people whose background he didn’t want to know, and people who thought mystery was alluring and seductive. Stiles was different though, but Derek didn’t know why he found him to be so interesting. Derek wasn’t a people person, or a cat person for that sake, but he and Stiles got along nicely. It was easy. There was much sass and banter, but it was all friendly and just nice. 

“Derek?” The question woke Derek of his thoughts, and he looked to Stiles who was floating before him with his head slightly tilted in question. 

“Sorry, just caught up in thought,” Derek said, offering Stiles a small smile, still shocked that Stiles was able to make him smile.

They walked towards the castle in comfortable silence, and only the gate opening and closing made any sound. Derek moved too silently for his footsteps to be heard, and Stiles simply didn’t touch the ground. Stiles lead Derek through the entire castle showing him the different rooms and the different people, while also making sarcastic and humorous comments. The castle appeared even bigger from the inside. It was done mostly in white and blue, with the occasional splash of another color. The many people walking around brought the most color to the castle. They were all clad in colorful clothes, but they themselves were also colorful. They walked past a group of peacocks eating crackers, green hedgehogs swimming in the punch and greeted a vibrantly blue dodo bird named Danny. 

Danny was one of Stiles’ friend, and he seemed friendly and nice, but he kept leering at Derek. Once he saw that he made Derek uncomfortable, he backed off though. Stiles said something to him, in a language Derek didn’t understand, making him smirk and laugh. Danny stayed in the ballroom as Stiles and Derek continued their tour through the castle. They didn’t meet any other of Stiles’ friends, and all the other guests ignored them as they walked past. 

Stiles lead Derek through a narrow hallway, with many doors in different sizes. It reminded him of the first room after he fell down the rabbit hole. They walked to the end of the hallway and entered a door on the left. The room was beautiful; it shared its white walls with the rest of the castle, but the wooden floor was a deep brown color unlike anything else in the castle. There was a delicately carved fireplace imbedded in the wall opposite to the four-poster king size bed made from the same wood as the floor. The bedsheet was crimson and had a small intricate pattern that Derek almost couldn’t make out. It was the first red he had seen in the entire castle. Some of the people down in the ballroom had weird roughly sewn patches on their clothes and Derek had a feeling that they were covering up spots on their clothes that used to be red. 

“Eh… They didn’t have any spare beds since they didn’t know you were coming, but I’m sure we can figure something out” Stiles said, drawing his attention away from the room. He hadn’t even noticed that there was only one bed. That used to be something he would have noticed right away alongside escape routes, but he hadn’t paid it any thought. Maybe Wonderland was changing him in some way, making him as mad as the rest of them. The thought didn’t alarm him in the slightest, which should have been alarming in itself. Instead he just said, “It’s fine” trying to get the anxious look of Stiles face. “Are you sure I’m welcome here?” he added on, making Stiles nod enthusiastically. 

“Of course! You are our Alice and an Alice always attends every single event, even the boring ones, like council meetings. Besides Scott and Lydia want to meet you” Stiles said smiling once more. Derek just grunted in response, not really knowing what to say to that. They spend some time in their room; unpacking their few belongings, the suit that Derek had picked was put in the closet. After that, they made their way towards another part of the castle, where Derek hadn’t been before. He had been reluctant to leave the room, thinking that he would have to speak to the other wedding guests, but they all kept their distance. 

A frazzled looking man was running around, when they reached what appeared to the chapel. Stiles sighed, before leaving Derek’s side to go calm the man down. While Stiles was talking to the man, who was now finally standing still, a beautiful red head snuck up and pried the wedding checklist out of the man’s hands. She gave Derek a smirk, flipped her red hair over her shoulder and started going over the list. He instantly knew who she was, and if he hadn’t the red hair and the backless red dress might have given him some indication as to who she was. 

The Red Queens red dress shimmered slightly as she moved to give orders to the different people working on decorating the chapel. Her voice was melodic, but sharp as she ordered people around trying to finish the list of things that needed to be done before the wedding. 

Stiles and the man made their way towards Derek and he could see that the man was quite handsome, but not Derek’s type. He had a crooked jaw, dark brown eyes and slightly curly hair. In that moment, he looked like a confused and stressed puppy. He had a tall hat with a white ribbon under his arm, and had somehow managed to get a teacup’s hank into the loop of his suit pants. Derek recognized him as The Mad Hatter, even without his hat on. 

“Derek this is my best friend Scott, soon to be white king. Be nice to him, he’s still a bit freaked out and stressed, so no fangs or growls okay? Good! That beautiful goddess over there, currently screaming at the florist, is The Red Queen Lydia. Jackson, her asshole of a husband is here somewhere, probably with Danny.” Stiles said, making a sweeping gesture when he introduced both Scott and Lydia. Derek offered them both a polite nod, which Lydia returned, whereas Scott offered a huge smile in return. Scott was just about to say something when a loud crash could be heard from the hallway. A white rabbit in a waistcoat came bouncing into the chapel skidding to a stop before Scott’s feet. 

“Hey Isaac! What’s up?” Stiles asked, while floating on his back in the air. 

“Finstock, our white knight” he added looking to Derek “He and John Stilinski went out to the wall when they heard about Humpty Dumpty. Humpty is going to be okay, but he’ll be staying with Duchess Melissa for a couple of days. She’ll be an hour late, but still arrive in time for the wedding”

“’All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.’ Apparently that would require a Duchess,” Stiles mumbled to himself. No one except Derek heard him, and he couldn’t help but smile a bit. He had no idea how Stiles knew the famous sentence from the book, but now that Humpty Dumpty was a real person, he was glad that Stiles could add another ending to the poem. 

He could hear Lydia mumbling “Greenberg, you idiot” under her breath as she terrorized the caterer. It didn’t seem like the slight was meant for the caterer, so Humpty Dumpty’s other name was most likely Greenberg. The pale faced caterer came running towards them, almost painting the front of Derek’s shirt with frosting. Luckily, she managed to stop before she ran him over in her haste to get away from The Queen. Derek was frowning when she looked up at him, and she looked almost as scared of him as she was of Lydia. It made Derek strangely proud as he watched the caterer run for the hills. 

***

They had spent another ten minutes in the chapel before Lydia ushered them all out. Derek had come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t want to get on Lydia’s bad side. He and Stiles were on their way back to their room, so that they could get changed into suits for the wedding. Derek had asked if Stiles was just going to wear a tie, since he obviously couldn’t wear a suit. Lydia had just looked at him weirdly, before squeezing her lips together and walking away. Derek had chalked it up to her, and everyone else for that matter, supposedly being mad, as in crazy not angry, but the nearer they came to the room the more Stiles started to fidget. 

Derek could smell the nervousness on him, and normally it seemed like he could only smell Stiles whenever he allowed it. So Stiles was either too nervous to control his scent or he wanted Derek to smell his nervousness. Derek kept giving him inquisitive looks, in the hopes that he would eventually tell what was bothering him. Derek didn’t know how to ask what was wrong. He wasn’t used to caring. 

“I saved you a seat, at the front. Don’t worry, you’ll be sitting next to my friends. Most of them are groomsmen or bridesmaids so at first they’ll be standing. Actually, you should head down to the chapel, so that you can greet them before we are all swept up in the beauty that will be this wedding. Um… I’ll be the one in red. You won’t be able to miss me.” Stiles disappeared from the room, leaving the last sentence hang in the air. 

Derek rubbed a hand across his face, massaging his temples. He could feel an oncoming headache, and with each hour that passed it seemed more and more difficult to believe that he was dreaming. That this was all a dream seemed to slip his mind more often than not. He slowly changed into the suit, trying to remember when he had last had completely clean clothes on. It seemed like an eternity. He tied the tie effortlessly, letting the silk hang relatively loose around his neck. It would feel too much like a collar if he tied it properly. 

As he slowly made his way down to the church, he was met with many curious stares. Word had no doubt spread that there supposedly was a new Alice in wonderland. Derek himself wasn’t sure if he truly was an Alice, as Stiles had put it. Some of the guests seemed rather hostile, and Derek had to fight every instinct he had not to growl at them. When he entered the chapel Isaac, the white rabbit, immediately came bounding over. He was practically radiating nervous energy when he led Derek to his assigned place. A couple of funny looking twins where standing at the other end of the church staring at Derek. They only stopped after Danny hissed “Ethan! Aiden!” at them. 

Isaac looked at his pocket watch, rolling his eyes, like it was a fact that they were always late. He hoped up on his chair, turning towards Derek, while placing his watch back in his pocket. Isaac introduced Derek to the rest of Stiles’ friends, while the other guests filled in. Derek was seated closest to the aisle and Stiles was supposed to sit next to him, but he would be entering the church with the maid of honor right before the groom. The rest of the chairs on the right side of the church were filled with the rest of Stiles’ friends; a dormouse called Erica and a march hare named Boyd. Scott’s mother, duchess Melissa, was seated on the second row with Stiles’ father John Stilinski.

The music began, and all of the guests quickly quieted down. The music was like none other Derek had ever heard, he had no idea what kind of instrument was being played. Two white knights opened the doors leading into the chapel, and footsteps could be heard ascending the stairs opposite from the door. Several of the guests gasped in outrage and a flurry of movement went through the crowd. As Derek turned his head to look at whatever was creating all the commotion his jaw dropped. He quickly schooled his face into being blank after many years of practice. He couldn’t stop his eyes from following every movement though. The most gorgeous man that Derek had ever seen was confidently moving up the aisle with Lydia on his arm. They were both clad completely in red, which must have been the cause of the outrage. Lydia was as stunning as ever in her red dress, but Derek paid no attention to her. All of his focus was directed towards the man in the grey and red suit. 

He walked down the aisle with fluid catlike movements, which almost made it look like he was floating instead of walking. Derek was far from the only one watching the two move through the room in time with the music, but the other guests were watching with barely veiled contempt. As they moved closer to Derek, he was suddenly acutely aware of the delicious scent wafting towards him and he could see the man’s amber eyes sparkle with laughter despite the guests’ hostility. It was only when the man smiled, that Derek felt the blankness of his face slip. His breath caught in his throat, when he realized exactly who the man was. He wanted to curse himself for not realizing it sooner. The delicious scent of the man distracted Derek again, and this time he understood what it was. The scent of Stiles and mate. Stiles was smirking at him, like he could read every though running through his head, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. 

The wedding went by in a blur, and the bride walking down the aisle was the only thing that made Derek take his eyes of Stiles for any period of time. The White Queen Allison was truly a dark haired beauty; which he had heard some of the guests call her. There was a moment when she briefly reminded him of someone else, but all the resemblance disappeared the moment she saw Scott standing at the end of the aisle. Her smile was blinding and dimpled. It seemed like time was standing still and moving incredibly fast all at once. The ceremony was over in what felt like seconds. Derek had been staring at Stiles the entire time enjoying the blush spreading on his face. Stiles had disappeared right after the ceremony, and Derek hadn’t seen him since. Isaac had said that he had some important business to attend to so he couldn’t participate in the following ball right away. 

Derek has standing at the sidelines, leaning against the ballroom wall, watching the bride and the groom dance their first dance. It was unlike any other dance that Derek had ever seen. It looked absolutely ridiculous, but it had a weirdly nice flow of some sort. The dance ended with a standing ovation. Someone, probably Jackson, whistled instead. Derek couldn’t help but smirk when he heard Lydia punch him. After that, everyone crowded the dancefloor, and the room became alive with swirling dresses and laughter. Derek still noticed it though. People were too skinny, and too pale. Most of them had bags under their eyes and the smell of blood or ashes clung to at least half of the guests. 

Thunder could be heard in the distance, but no lightning could be seen. Suddenly Stiles was right there next to Derek and only the sour smell of fear and panic was enough for Derek not to throttle him. He still couldn’t believe that Stiles hadn’t told him, that he could shift shape. He still didn’t understand why Stiles felt like he had to keep it a secret. Stiles’ frantic whispering pulled Derek from his thoughts. The whispers sounded exactly like the ones from his dream in the forest. “Derek! We need to leave. You need to get somewhere safe. The Queen of Hearts is coming! She’s on her way right now and so help me I will knock you unconscious right know if you don’t move or acknowledge that I just said something. Something important! And before you ask, no we don’t need to tell anyone. The king and the queen know.”

Derek didn’t bother with answering, choosing instead to follow some unknown instinct, which made him grab Stiles’ hand and quickly move towards the exit. He didn’t like leaving everyone in there, but despite Stiles’ claim that it was Derek that needed to be safe, Derek felt a previously unknown need to find somewhere safe for Stiles instead. 

They were running down a deserted hallway when Derek once again heard something that sounded like thunder. As it came nearer the sound changed echoing of the white marble walls. Stiles pulled Derek into dark alcove and a second later something big ran past them in the hall. Derek had only seen a glimpse of it, but he recognized the white fur with light grey spots of the Bandersnatch. 

He was momentarily distracted by how close Stiles was still standing. The smell of mate was even more potent when Stiles was in this form. The sound of the Bandersnatch reaching the ballroom spurred Derek into action once more. He wrapped his fingers around Stiles’ wrist and pulled him along towards the exit.


	6. Witzend

Screams filled the air as they ran towards the nearest door, but there was no scent of fresh blood. Derek wanted to tell Stiles this, and assure him that his friends were safe, but he didn’t know how. He still wasn’t used to being around someone with whom he could actually be himself. He could make weird comments about smell or someone’s heart skipping a beat. He didn’t have to purposefully react slower to things or fake a shocked expression to imitate humans’ poorer senses. 

Stiles took the lead running towards the castle stables. Derek followed mutely, wondering why two of the horses were already saddled. While they were running, they had somehow ended up holding hands rather than Derek gripping at Stiles’ wrist. He only noticed this when Stiles let go of his hand and continued towards one of the horses. Both of the horses, where Andalusian with a white and dapple grey coat. Derek only knew this because his father and youngest brother had absolutely loved horses. Derek quickly swung himself into the saddle despite never having ridden a horse before. Werewolf reflexes were beneficial in so many circumstances. 

When he looked over, he saw that Stiles was already in the saddle, looking towards the stable’s main door. It was pulled open a few minutes later and a frazzled looking Scott entered the stable, closely followed by a murderous looking Allison. Scott’s hat was askew and Allison calmly fixed it as she walked past him towards Derek and Stiles. Her eyes were filled with poison and wrath. It sent a cold shiver down Derek’s back. 

“I cannot believe her. To think that I used to call her my aunt. That she would have the audacity to try and take the throne from me, today of all days.” Allison said, her voice nothing more than a furious whisper. Her entire being was trembling, be it from anger or sadness Derek couldn’t tell, but it spurred Scott into movement. He laid a comforting hand on his wife’s shoulder, folding his arms around her when she turned towards him. “It’s okay Allison. We knew she might try something like this and no one was hurt”. Allison leaned away from Scott, but not enough to break the circle his arms formed around her waist. “She ruined our wedding Scott!”

It was at this point that Stiles cleared his throat, looking like he was used to how the couple acted. “Not to interrupt, well actually I cleared my throat to interrupt, but still we need to leave. Do you have some place for us to go?”

Allison was still taking some time to compose herself, so Scott was the one that answered. “Yes, Isaac volunteered to have you stay with him. He’s already at home I believe. He left in a hurry, saying he was late, as usual.”

“Why is it that he is so concerned about being late?” Derek couldn’t help but ask. It was yet another thing that he didn’t know about. This was one out of very few things concerning Wonderland were Derek hadn’t been able to make his sister talk or come up with some wild and weird guess. Laura had insisted that the rabbit must simply be an anxious perfectionist worrying about offending others, whereas Derek had a feeling that there was something more to it than that. The white rabbit could be rude or even rather cruel at some points in the book. An uncanny darkness filled Scott’s eyes and the bags under his eyes seemed even more pronounced. “His father wasn’t too happy with him whenever he was late. He’s made a point of staying on time ever since.” Derek noticed the past tense, but decided not to ask. He, more than anyone else, knew about having a dark past.

Scott and Allison waved their goodbyes as Stiles and Derek rode past them, Scott seemingly haven forgotten his bad mood. Allison still seemed a bit upset, but laughed when Scott told her about how Erica had plucked the Bandersnatch’s eye right out of its socket with her tiny sword. Derek added Erica to his ever-growing list of people never to cross and spurred his horse into a trot, so that Stiles didn’t get too far ahead. 

***

They slowed down their pace when Stiles deemed that they were far enough away from the castle. Derek had actually hoped to see the front of the palace, but they had taken the back exit again. He hadn’t said anything to Stiles. It seemed so silly and pointless. It angered Derek that something as pointless and small as seeing something beautiful, something that had put such a happy smile on Stiles face could take up so much space in his head. It shouldn’t even be a priority. He should be focusing on figuring out why someone would set the Bandersnatch loose at the royal wedding. 

He glanced at Stiles from the corner of his eye and saw the way the sunlight made it look like his eyes were glowing. Suddenly, he was reminded of how Stiles had neglected to tell him that he could take human form. The thought made him inexplicably angry and he let out a small growl. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Stiles looked over at Derek taking in his slightly angry expression and sighed. Derek had thought that he might need to explain himself or that Stiles would simply play dumb. That he would pretend not to know what Derek was talking about. “How can you even ask that?” Stiles said sounding exasperated. At Derek’s blank look Stiles’ eyes widened. “You don’t know do you? Most people view shifters as twofaced, deceiving and backstabbing creatures!” Stiles had continued without waiting for Derek to answer. 

“You really don’t know what people say about my kind do you?” Stiles asked once more, voice soft and somewhat shocked. 

Derek shook his head. He hadn’t met any shifters before, but his parents had never mentioned anything like shifter discrimination. The only time he had ever heard his parents talk about shifters was when they sat down him and Laura to teach them about the supernatural. Previously Derek had thought that werewolves were a kind of shifter. They changed, sprouted fur and fangs, and sometimes even changed completely into wolves. There still was a difference between werewolves and shifters though. Shifters could change into anyone they desired, whereas werewolves were always themselves. Granted they were different versions of themselves, but themselves nonetheless. A shifter could impersonate anyone. 

“Have you ever heard the origin story of the shape shifters?” Stiles asked, continuing when Derek shook his head no. The conversation was rather one-sided, but they had quickly gotten used to that during their time together. 

“There are multiple stories, but this is the most popular one. There was once a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, tragedy struck her early in life and she was left alone and poor. Life on the street changed her and she became crude and a well-known scarlet woman. She used her beauty to get men into her bed. Only when she had bedded very man in the world did she give birth to a little baby. This little baby had the traits of all men, and instead of being loved by all, the men grew jealous and petty. The mother was killed for her whoring, but somehow the baby escaped, thus becoming the first ever shape shifter.” 

They rode on in silence for a time while Derek thought over all the new information. He really hoped that Stiles didn’t believe that story. He himself had had a period in his life where horror movies had him convinced that all werewolves were monsters. It was a horrible way to feel about one self and Derek’s mother Talia had made a big deal out of convincing him otherwise. The thought of his mother brought a familiar stab of guilt, but he was distracted when Stiles cleared his throat, most likely having seen the sad expression on Derek’s face. Stiles always seemed like he was incredibly aware of Derek’s emotions, and it both annoyed and delighted him. He wasn’t used to people paying him any attention beyond their first attraction to his physical appearance. Growling and glaring usually scared people away, but Stiles wasn’t deterred by his less than stellar personality. It annoyed him, because this was most likely not real, but also because he had gone from clinging to the fact that this was not real to hating that is wasn’t. 

“I grew up with another story though. My mom was a spark like me, but hers was latent.” Stiles spoke softly. He shifted his eyes to Derek making sure that he was listening. “There was once a beautiful kind young woman. She was so kind and motherly that the gods decided she needed someone to take care of. The woman wanted this too, so they granted her a little baby. She was even more stunning in pregnancy. Her beauty became well known and everyone came to visit the god’s favorite. She allowed everyone to lay a careful hand on her swollen stomach, so that they could feel the baby kick. This little actions sparked such joy and love in anyone who visited her that it left a mark on the baby. Once the baby was born, it remembered the joy and the love that was shared with it. The baby wanted to give some of that love and kindness in return so it used the love to create an ability. This ability allowed the baby to become anyone or anything so that it might relate to people and better guide them during troubled times. That is the origin of the first shifter.”

Stiles smelled like sadness, grief was rolling of him in waves and Derek had absolutely no idea what to do or say. Stiles seemed to shake himself out of it and started commenting on the different kinds of flowers. Apparently, the roses and the tiger lilies were really stuck up. For lack of anything to do, Derek reached out and squeezed Stiles’ shoulder. It did the trick, and they silently reached a consensus, where Derek was no longer mad about having things kept from him and Stiles no longer kept things from him or assumed that Derek had the same prejudices as everyone else. 

They continued riding, Stiles commenting on anything and everything. The tenseness in Derek’s shoulders disappeared slowly disappeared and he relaxed to the now familiar sound of Stiles’ babbling. A couple of spotted pigs, this time big ones, crossed their path startling their horses, who in turn startled Derek by cursing like sailors. Stiles turned pink and stammered an apology as to why he had forgotten to mention that their horses could in fact talk. Derek just sighed and blocked out the information and the following emotions. He was pretty good at that, but he was still feeling appropriately weirded out. 

Ashes were swilling in the air, making the horses cough, and prompting Stiles and Derek to push their scarfs up so that they covered their mouths. Derek had given Stiles a weird look when the pale boy had pushed a simple grey scarf into his hands before taking of into the woods. Now, he understood, feeling bad for the horses having to breathe in the ash. Stiles’ horse was constantly complaining, but Derek was almost positive that he was the only one who heard. The horse Derek was on didn’t say much, and Derek suspected that Stiles had chosen this horse specifically with Derek in mind. 

The sounds of people and animals reached Derek’s ear from behind a small hill. Stiles only gave that road a quick glance before turning towards a small path leading into yet another forest. It didn’t take long before they reached a small clearing adorned with a cozy cabin. It had white walls, a roof of straw and slightly blue doors and window frames. When Isaac opened the front door, Derek realized that the blue matched Isaac’s eye color perfectly. Isaac pulled his pocket watch from his waistcoat, revealing a splatter of blood on the coat’s insides, sighing when he saw the time. He waved them into the house, hopping towards what Derek assumed was the kitchen. 

Tea and biscuits were served as they sat around Isaac’s small table. There was a chair in a proper size for Derek though. Stiles said that it belonged to Scott. Stiles had changed back to his ‘normal’ appearance, tail draped casually over Derek’s leg in the cramped space around the table. He wanted to reach out and see if the fur was still as soft as it looked, but instead he took the offered cup of tea. Tea wasn’t really his thing, but Wonderland didn’t seem to have any coffee. 

“Thank you for fixing my roof Derek. The ash constantly falling through the cracks was very annoying.” Isaac said, seeming hesitant and almost shy. Derek shot him a bewildered look. He hadn’t done anything to fix his roof. As he thought back, he realized that there had been no ash on Isaac’s roof. The ash covered every other surface, and it seemed almost impossible that Derek could have missed someplace were it didn’t. Stiles hissed slightly at Isaac, who simply rolled his eyes. Derek narrowed his eyes at Stiles prompting him to speak.

“Okay. I didn’t tell you this because we aren’t sure that it’s true.” Stiles said hurriedly. “The Oraculum speaks of an Alice whose mere presence will drive away the ash and with it The Red Queen. We all thought that there must have been a mistake, because the ash didn’t get here until after our first Alice had already left Wonderland again. Normally there is only one Alice, so when she…. died, we all thought that we were doomed to live like this forever. Then you came along and I just knew that you was the Alice who would finally rid us of The Red Queen. Personally, I didn’t think that springing this on you the moment you arrived would do anything other than pressure you, and you seemed pretty tense already.”

Derek sat staring at his hands for some time, not yet ready to meet Isaac’s or especially Stiles’ hopeful eyes. His parents had preached non-violence, saying that werewolves could be better than their most basic instincts. They didn’t have to be monsters, bandits or thugs. They could be good. Whenever some feral werewolf ran amok in Beacon Hills his parents always tried to save that person. No matter what they had done while feral. Derek had always thought it was some sort of overcompensating, but he had stood over their graves and promised them that he wouldn’t forget what they stood for. He didn’t know The Red Queen, but as he looked at Stiles’ thin and bloodied frame, he decided that she wasn’t someone worth saving. 

***

Derek was asleep in one of Isaac’s guest bedrooms, the one that Scott used to frequent before he and Allison started dating, when the door was slowly pushed open. He couldn’t hear any heartbeat, except Isaac’s from further down the hall, and there was no scent. Derek hesitantly slanted his eyes open, and looked towards the door, where he saw a familiar flash of grey. Stiles must have noticed that he woke Derek up because suddenly the small room was filled with his heartbeat and scent. He closed his eyes again, as Stiles hoped unto the bed without making any sound whatsoever. Derek could feel small points of pressure on his chest from where Stiles put his paws before he curled in on himself still on Derek’s chest. Something had definitely changed between them, but Derek didn’t know what it was, just that as weird as it was he wasn’t entirely opposed to it. The sound of Stiles’ heartbeat and his scent made it feel all the more real, and as Stiles fell asleep, Derek allowed himself to tangle his fingers in Stiles’ fur and hope that he wasn’t dreaming. 

***

When Derek woke up, it was slowly, his wolf content with the smell of Stiles still everywhere in the room. Pans banging and meat sizzling could be heard coming from the kitchen, as well as humming of a, to Derek, unfamiliar song. Isaac was hopping around in his own room, feet loudly stamping the floor only outshouted by the ticking of his pocket watch. Stiles was dancing around the kitchen, once again human, when Derek reached the bottom of the stairs. Derek noticed that he was blushing slightly, but continued dancing his way across the kitchen floor to take the bacon of the heat. Isaac hoped down the stairs and unto his chair at the table the minute his big grandfather clock started chiming. 

They all ate quickly, Derek swept away, by not only Isaac’s, but Stiles’ hurrying as well. Derek went out to relieve himself, and listened to the sounds of Stiles and Isaac clearing the table. They were both laughing and it sounded like they were throwing pots and pans around trying in vain to get them into the sink. He did up his pants and snuck back into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe. The scene in front of him brought back some long forgotten memories. Talia washing the dishes, with Peter drying them, before handing them to Laura to put in the cupboard. Derek himself clearing the table, only trusting a very young Cora with her own plastic tableware. There’s a hole in his memory so he cannot remember how it happened, but Cora ended up with a soaked dishtowel in her face and both Laura and Derek where trying to hide behind each other as Talia and Peter doused them with water. 

A loud crash sounded, and Derek looked up to see that Isaac had somehow gotten a huge bucket filled with water kicked to its side. Stiles hissed at the water cascading over the floor. Backing away from it, he somehow managed to slip on a butter stick, launching it directly into Isaac’s face. It seemed like something that happened in comedies and it was so unreal that Derek couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. Stiles froze from where he was lying on his back on the kitchen floor. He rolled over unto his stomach, seemingly indifferent of the water reaching his big grey paws. The look of awe on Stiles face made Derek uncomfortable, even more so when Stiles breathed out “Do that again”. Isaac cleared his throat, making Stiles startle. “Yeah Derek, you should laugh more. It’s good for you” Isaac said, and Derek didn’t miss the grateful look that Stiles gave him. He just chose to ignore it.

Stiles’ ear flickered towards the door at the same time Derek heard two horses galloping through the forest, heading towards the house. All three of them spilled out of the front door as the horses entered the clearing. It was the same horses that had brought them to Isaac’s house the day before. They were both breathing heavily, but Stiles’ horse managed to pant out “Reds are coming”. 

Those three words spurred Stiles into action, and Derek instinctively followed his lead in a way he hadn’t since his mother, and alpha, was alive. Isaac disappeared into the house, and Derek expected to hear locks being turned and deadbolts being pushed in place, but instead Isaac reappeared with two packed bags. Derek could smell food and his own old clothes from one of the bags; he grabbed that one and handed the other to Stiles. 

They swung themselves in the saddles, just as Isaac went into his house again. This time the sound of the deadbolt being shut reverberated through the clearing. A colorful bird, with a blue tongue, black and white striped wings and red eyes broke through the tree line, closely followed by a pack of rabid animals. Derek didn’t have time to properly categorize them, as Derek’s own horse screamed “Jubjub bird” before taking off after Stiles and his horse. Mud flew everywhere as the horses kept up their fast pace running through the swamps. Their breathing was labored, but somewhat under control. Derek came to realize, that the horses must have been faking it yesterday, when they complained about the lack of breaks and sore hooves on the way to Isaac’s. 

Mossy trees, ashy water and mud swirled together. Derek had his claws out and fangs barred, but it did little to scare away the cheetah that was running circles around his horse. The cheetah lunged, managing to claw the horse on its rear, making it buck and almost throw Derek off. The cheetah was just as broken as every other creature in wonderland, and Derek managed to open up one of its old wounds. It howled a sickly noise that made Derek pale. Blood was covering the forest floor underneath the cheetah, and it quickly turned tail and ran. It looked like it dropped some of its black spots on the way leaving bloodied sandy fur underneath. 

Derek turned to Stiles seeing that he was fighting some sort of bird with no wings and an upturned peak. It looked sort of like a mop with the way it had all of its feathers puffed out. Clearly, it couldn’t fly , and just as the cheetah had run circles around Derek, Stiles was clearly only playing with the bird, disappearing and appearing smacking the bird on the back of its head. Bloodied feathers, littering the back of Stiles’ horse were the only signs that the bird had even been there by the time the swamp started to look familiar and they broke into the clearing in front of the Duchess’ house.


	7. The meeting

Stiles was all smiles, as they were greeted by everyone in front of the Duchess’ house. The fresh blood that coated Stiles’ teeth should have made Derek uncomfortable, but instead of being bothered, he was just glad that Stiles hadn’t been hurt. The others took no notice of the extra blood either, but Derek noticed. He noticed that Scotts pant leg was torn and bloody and that Stiles’ father seemed to be holding a bloodied knife behind his back. Erica and Boyd where standing in the door of the house, they were both badly beaten up as well. The difference that one day had made. They looked completely different from when they were behind the safety of Marmoreal’s walls. It was almost impossible to think that there would be something important enough to risk venturing out for, if they looked this bad after only one day. 

Stiles’ father turned towards the house throwing the knife through the open door, and walked towards Stiles. Erica and Boyd didn’t even bother with ducking, and the almost bored expressions on their faces told of many sharp things having been thrown at them. 

At the complaint from their horses both Stiles and Derek swung themselves out of the saddle, Stiles changing back to human in the process and just in time to be crushed in a hug by his father. Derek couldn’t help the way his eyes lingered on Stiles’ slender form, but he quickly averted his eyes when he sniffed out Scott’s suspicion and curiosity. Melissa started walking towards Derek, softly but purposefully jostling Scott’s shoulder on the way. She stopped in front of him and clapped her hands once before enveloping him in a warm hug. It was so foreign and so motherly, that Derek couldn’t believe he had done anything to deserve such fondness and motherly care. The last person that had hugged him was Laura, it was two days before she died and they had been curled up on the couch in their apartment in New York. They were reading Alice in wonderland; Laura had found the book in an old bookshop and purchased it, since they didn’t have the one that used to belong to Cora. Derek couldn’t remember why they didn’t bring the book with them to New York, but he suspected that it was the same reason that he had never removed it from its place on the yellow bookcase. 

“What on earth did you run into?” John Stilinski asked fishing a colorful feather out of the hood on Stiles’ red hoodie. “eh… I think it was a Borogrove. I know that they are extremely rare, but it was rather mimsy” Stiles said, voice defensive as he looked to Derek to back up his claim. 

At Derek uncomprehending look, Stiles seemed to go over his sentence before finally speaking “Mimsy, it’s a combination of miserable and flimsy. Wouldn’t you agree that the bird was mimsy?” 

“Sure” he answered, not knowing what else to say. 

John sent Derek a knowing look that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable with, but John still followed Melissa into the house, without resistance, when she grabbed his arm. They all slowly moved towards the house, except the horses. Derek’s was standing in the shade of a three catching his breath, whereas Stiles’ horse, who had clearly inherited Stiles’ like for the dramatic, was laying in the middle of the field moaning about the difficulty of washing out the blood from his fur. 

They were all seated at Melissa’s large dinner table when Derek entered and quietly closed the door behind himself. He took the empty seat next to Stiles, ignoring the displeased twitch of John’s mouth, instead choosing to take in the small sincere smile Stiles offered him. Isaac came hopping down the stairs a couple of seconds later mumbling about annoying people being late to the meeting, and Derek had to do a double take, not because Isaac had somehow gotten there before them, but because he was holding a big red velvet pillow on which sat a blue caterpillar.

“Thank you for coming over Absolem” Melissa said taking the pillow from Isaac and placing it at the end of the table. Absolem simply nodded, with a blank expression on his face. 

Stiles nudged Derek with his shoulder “That’s our Absolem, his names is Deaton, but he insists that we call him Absolem as if he’s the only one out there! Preposterous! He’s very smart and knows almost everything, but he will never ever give a straight answer. It’s always riddles, rimes or half-truths with him.” Derek nodded, he sounded like he was pretty much the same as in the books then. 

He looked around the table, as everyone settled in. Derek had expected Lydia and maybe Allison to make a fuss over the cramped space, but they simply snuggled closer to their respective husbands. Isaac, Erica and Boyd were sharing one chair, but they didn’t seem to mind it. 

Lydia and Allison were discussing the wedding, and practically making fun of each and every one from Allison’s court. Derek was both relived and glad that Allison wasn’t like the girls he had first encountered coming to the castle. Meaningless chatter filled the room, and Derek was just starting to wonder why they hadn’t started this weird meeting, that they had been so secretive about, when the door was kicked open. Tweedledee and Tweedledum, also named Ethan and Aiden, entered to room followed by a white knight who looked like he had been dragged through the muddy swamp by a horse. Derek was pretty sure that the knight also had cupcake frosting in his black hair. 

“Ah Finstock, nice of you to join us. Whatever happened to you on your way here?” John asked the knight, very much looking like he already knew the answer. The knight loudly explained that he had run into some sharks on his way there, and that his spiked anklets had proven effective in saving his horse, but instead left the sharks to eat all of his cupcakes. He had then fallen of his horse and was dragged the rest of the way.

Ethan and Aiden had taken the last two places around the table, while Finstock was recounting his latest adventures. Seeing that every seat was already taken, Finstock demanded a place to sit around the table, demands becoming higher and shriller as no one moved to leave their place at the table. Finally, Stiles rolled his eyes before changing into a Cheshire cat once more and then promptly sitting himself down in Derek’s lap. Derek was so shocked that he just sat with his hands in the air, until he noticed Lydia smirking at him and carefully lowered his hands so that he could tangle his fingers in Stiles’ soft fur. He very intently ignored Lydia’s soft smile and the fact that Stiles was purring silently enough that only Derek could hear. 

Slowly the meeting began, but it seemed peripheral to Derek, who was still rubbing small circles into Stiles’ fur. Stiles seemed completely dead to the world, but none of the guests berated him for falling asleep, if anything, they all seemed delighted that he was sleeping so peacefully. Even Jackson had looked at Stiles’ sleeping form with something almost like fondness. Derek didn’t even dare think about how he himself looked as he gazed down at Stiles. It had been years since anyone had seemed so at peace around him. Stiles complemented him in all ways and seamlessly fit into Derek’s life filling a hole he hadn’t even known was there. 

A sharp pain in his thigh made him notice that the entire room had gone silent. Lydia was looking at him expectantly, and it was clear that she had asked him a question, but what was even clearer was the fact that she also knew that Derek hadn’t been paying attention. Stiles had slit open one eye looking up at Derek from his position in his lap, retracting his claws from Derek’s thigh allowing the small wound to mend itself. He was thinking of different ways to get Lydia to repeat the question when she just sighed “To summarize; Are you going to help us rid Wonderland of the Queen of Hearts and the burning sickness that she has brought upon this land?” Her voice seemed calm and somewhat disinterested on the surface, but Derek could hear her elevated heartbeat and smell her nervousness. Stiles has both his open by now quietly looking up at Derek. 

He had already decided and he had known he was going to help from the moment he looked at how damaged Wonderland and its inhabitants were. Looking down at Stiles, fingers softly stroking a particularly nasty scar was just the final straw. Derek looked up offering Lydia and the rest of the group a terse nod, not knowing what to say. Evidently, he didn’t have to say anything, because Lydia directed a blinding smile in his direction. Everyone else just looked incredibly grateful, and Derek didn’t know how to tell them that he had no idea how he was supposed to help them. As Stiles and Lydia started planning and plotting, he came to realize that he didn’t have to know.

It was almost scary how quickly Lydia and Stiles came up with plans of how to invade The Queen of Heart’s castle. Stiles had apparently been there many times before on secret missions without being detected. Derek wasn’t pleased with hearing that Stiles had risked his own life infiltrating the castle in order to get vital information on upcoming raids and even rescue some of her prisoners. It spoke volumes about Stiles’ character that he had risked his own life repeatedly in order to protect the people that had treated him like he was something stuck to the bottom of their shoes for his entire life. If the venomous glares he received at the wedding was anything to go by, they still didn’t see him as anything but untrustworthy and red.

In the end, they decided that Stiles and Derek would have to do most of the work themselves. Allison’s army was starved, outnumbered, broken and wasn’t nearly strong enough to take on The Queen of Heart’s army. Most of Lydia’s army was scattered all over wonderland and in hiding, since people tended to kill them on sight because of their red color. Both Alison’s and Lydia’s armies primarily consisted of actual chess pieces, with the occasional humanoid general, whereas The Queen of Heart’s army consisted of playing card soldiers and various feral animals. 

Derek had asked why he couldn’t just eat a whole batch of Upelkuchen, and smash the castle to bits. According to Scott, that was a stupid question, but Lydia launched into a more biological explanation and lost Derek somewhere around the point of mass not equating power and the equilibrium and natural spread of force. Some of the things she was saying made no sense, and Derek would have called her out on some of the things that seemed downright against the laws of nature, but Stiles was silently nodding along Lydia’s explanation as if it made perfect sense. Stiles took over on explaining; when Lydia had seemingly proved that Derek’s idea was in fact stupid. There was a small entrance to the castle underneath the castle’s drawbridge. They would have to reach the bridge undetected and then crawl through the palace sewers to reach the kitchen. It had to be done during the night, so that the kitchen would be desolate. 

The Queen of Hearts didn’t trust her own army or servants, only a selected few were deemed trustworthy. Therefore, she had had locks installed on almost every room, so that she could simply lock the door to whatever room her army and servants were currently in, if they ever wanted to rebel. Every room in the castle could quickly be turned into a secure prison. Derek and Stiles were going to use that to their advantage, sneaking from the kitchen to lock most of the castle doors. Then they could let Alison’s awaiting army in the front doors, and hopefully there would only be a minimum of night guards and then the queen herself. 

It seemed like very simple plan, but in Derek’s eyes, there was still a lot of room for error. It seemed like so many things could go wrong ending with either or both of them being beheaded. Stiles seemed pretty confident in the plan though, but he had also been in and out of the castle multiple times, so Derek assumed that that gave him another sense of calm about the whole thing. The rest of the group were confident in the plan as well, and having that many people believing in him should have made him nervous and perhaps even more determined to succeed, but all it did was remind him of pack. The way all of them immediately believed that Stiles and Derek would be able to take down The Queen of Hearts even though many of them had only known Derek for a couple of days was baffling. 

Silence descended upon the room as they all contemplated what they were about to do. It seemed like the whirlwind of emotions and new impressions that had surrounded Derek since he fell down the rabbit hole was finally quieting down. He still had trouble believing that he was going to help them with this, and that they even wanted his help to begin with. Helping and restoring things had never been his forte, and he could understand why Cora had been their Alice. She would have been able to offer much more help and comfort than Derek ever could. Even Laura would have been a better second choice, with the way she took to being an alpha with such ease. She would have been able to lead and bring hope to the population of Wonderland. Derek was gruff, angry and broken, but he had never once considered that he could just walk away; that he didn’t really know these people, because everything in him told him that he knew them. He had grown up reading about them, and laughed with Laura about all the silly little changes that Cora had made to the original story. They were as close to being pack as they could be.

Stiles shifted in his lap, rubbing his head against Derek’s stomach causing him to look down at the cat. He should have realized that Stiles had fallen asleep from the way, his heart had calmed and his usual fidgeting quieted, but he had been too swept up in thoughts of doubt, guilt and a longing after something that was long gone. 

“Get some rest Derek, you’re going to need it for later tonight” Lydia said, eyes softening as she looked down at Stiles “Don’t wake him up, it’s been way to long since he’s been able to sleep so peacefully”

Derek simply nodded, shifting so he was actually carrying Stiles instead of just being used as a pillow. Stiles simply dug his claws into Derek’s shirt as he moved towards the couch where he had slept the first night. Scott and Allison were sleeping in Scott’s old room, and Lydia had quickly claimed the old bed Melissa had pulled into the living room for herself and Jackson. The rest of the group were sleeping on the floor almost completely covered in blankets and pillows. Derek couldn’t actually see Erica, but knew from the sound of her sleepy heartbeat, that she was laying somewhere under the blanket Boyd was using. Isaac was lying next to them; paws moving not unlike a dog, making it look like he was running to make better time even in his dream. 

As he maneuvered around his new friends sleeping on the floor, he had to hold Stiles even closer to his body as to not accidentally drop him. He laid down on the couch letting Stiles curl up on his chest, and pulled a blanket over them both. A sense of calm washed through Derek as he laid there with his hand once again in Stiles’ fur. It seemed to have found its way tangling with the grey fur without conscience thought. It occurred to him, somewhat distantly, that his new or at least newly acknowledged feelings for Stiles should be weird and frightening. Instead, Derek only felt a warm glow in his chest whenever he thought of Stiles and that should have been scary in its own way, but the content feeling overpowered everything else.

He didn’t have the best track record when it came to women, so he should feel terrified. It astounded him that he was even able to feel something for Stiles at all, but the feelings only seemed to grow stronger for each day he spent in Wonderland. His first girlfriend Paige had died when they were both only fifteen years old. He was devastated and his parents made him visit a psychiatrist to make sure that he was able to properly deal with the loss. That was where he had met Kate. The mere thought of her was enough to make Derek nauseous and tighten his hold on Stiles relishing the little purr he got in return. She had taken advantage of his grief, made him open up to her about Paige and about his family and she had used every single piece of information to tear his life apart. She had set fire to his house, while his whole family had been busy with preparing for the next full moon. Of course, he hadn’t told Kate why they were all gathering at the house, just that it was a tradition. Only Derek, Laura and Peter had survived the fire, but Peter was comatose and burned so badly that even his werewolf healing couldn’t help. The worst part was that Derek had continued to go to Kate, with no idea that she had been the one to burn down his house. Laura had encouraged him to do so, and he had spent hours crying about his loss to Kate. He could see now that every tear and broken word must have made her ecstatic and possibly slightly delirious. Derek had naïvely thought that they were madly in love and that they simply couldn’t tell anyone because he was her patient. He had continued to believe that until he stood over Laura’s broken body with only the scent of Kate and euphoria lingering in the air. He hadn’t even realized that she was an actual hunter until she had shown up at his house chasing him and making him fall down the rabbit hole. 

On some level, Derek knew that he didn’t deserve to feel this way about Stiles. He had messed up too many things in his life to deserve something, or someone, that good. The things he had been through had left him broken in more ways than he knew how to enunciate and even though Stiles had been through a lot as well, he had somehow found the strength to remain good, warm and whole. Every time Derek considered pushing Stiles away, Stiles simply did something that only made it impossible to think that Derek could ever be without him ever again. Derek knew that he was being incredibly selfish, but he couldn’t bring himself to care when Stiles felt so right in every way. 

The last thing he thought about before falling asleep wasn’t Paige, the fire or Kate, only Stiles. Derek was lulled asleep by the warmth of Stiles’ body and the familiar beat of his heart.


	8. The Queen of Hearts

When Derek awoke after a couple of hours of sleep he felt incredibly warm, and the heat would have felt stifling if he hadn’t been used to that kind of warmth from when his family used to make puppy piles when he was younger. He had a moment of panic, when he realized that it was no longer Stiles, who he was sharing the couch with, but the scents of Boyd, Erica and Isaac somewhat calmed him. He slowly blinked open his eyes, noticing the way Isaac was squished between Derek’s torso and the back of the couch. Boyd was laying over Derek’s leg effectively locking him in place, whereas Erica was sleeping soundly on the top of Boyd’s back. The warmth, felt like pack, which was nice in an entirely different way that it was with stiles. Stiles felt like pack too, but also much more than that. Derek’s wolf had considered everyone in the house pack for quite some time, and seeing that they actually existed only made him all the more aware of it. Now that he had met them in real life, not just in a book, they all seamlessly fit in the category that was pack. 

He could hear Stiles moving around in the kitchen berating his father for putting too much pepper in the scrambled eggs. The house was slowly waking up, and Derek let his senses wander, listening to the sound of a house filled with people. He purposefully didn’t listen in on Alisson and Scott’s room. They were newlyweds after all. 

Boyd woke up, while Derek was trying to extract his legs from underneath Boyd as carefully as possible. He simply nodded at Derek and moved up the couch to cuddle with Isaac, when Derek finally stood. He moved towards the kitchen muscles tensing in preparation in case he had to duck the minute he entered the kitchen. Surprisingly nothing came hurtling at his head, but not for lack of trying, he noticed. John tried to inch closer to the peppershaker, bus he was tied to one of the kitchen chairs, while Stiles cooked something delicious smelling over the stove. 

“We can’t leave if you have a concussion, so naturally I had to tie him up” Stiles turned to Derek with a smile ignoring his father’s annoyed but equally fond look.

“Naturally” Derek repeated in a flat tone. Stiles simply smiled at him, gesturing at his father, presumably asking Derek to untie him. He moved to stand behind the chair, and quietly flicked out his claws. It took less than a second for Derek to cut through the rope and as he took time to properly look at it, he realized that it wasn’t rope at all. 

“Is this yarn?”

Stiles sent a smile in his direction. “Yep. Melissa likes to knit sometimes and it was the only thing at hand”

Derek simply shook his head at Stiles’ antics and moved closer so that he could what Stiles was cooking. He was looking over Stiles shoulder at what appeared to be some sort of pink scrambled eggs, standing a bit closer than what was normally acceptable, drinking in his comforting scent. He vaguely noticed John moving in his peripheral vision, but most of his senses were focused on Stiles, so when a handful of pepper was unceremoniously dumped on the top of his head he was shocked enough to briefly let his eyes flash alpha red. He spluttered indignantly as John snickered moving towards the living room. He could hear Jackson complaining about the noise, which only made John laugh even more. Stiles shrugged offering Derek another small smile, which he couldn’t help but return. 

The moment was broken when Scott came barreling down the stairs. Derek hadn’t even realized that they were having a moment or how close they were standing until they no longer were. 

“Is breakfast ready yet” Scott almost yelled, unaware of the silence he was breaking. Derek could hear Jackson once again grumbling about being woken up in the middle of the night. 

“You can’t really call it breakfast, when it’s the middle of the night Scott” Stiles sighed “What are you doing up anyway? It’s only Derek and I that are going into the castle; you don’t have to be awake for another couple of hours.”

“I wanted to say goodbye to you before you left, and to make sure you weren’t freaking out. Not that you have any reason to be freaking out, because you can do this no problem, I know that.” Scott finished bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Stiles looked him up and down, before he narrowed his eyes at him “You just wanted some food didn’t you?” Stiles asked, grinning his Cheshire grin when Scott smiled sheepishly in their direction. 

A couple of minutes later all three of them were sitting around the table eating their food. It was so delicious, that Derek was only slightly concerned when Stiles wouldn’t tell him what it was. It was nice, if a bit weird to be sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast in the middle of the night. Even though most of the food was long gone, they still sat at the table, Scott and Stiles telling stories or discussion nonsense, while Derek silently listened on. Stiles was telling the story of how Lydia had almost ripped someone’s head of when they asked her if she wanted to play cards.

“Then she almost screamed at him ‘I’m not the queen of hearts! I don’t play cards. I’m a chess person you ignorant fool. It was hilarious,” Stiles told as he stuffed his mouth with scrambled eggs. Derek tried and failed not to find it adorable. Melissa came down the stairs carrying two small backpacks that smelled heavily of antiseptic. She kissed Stiles’ forehead muttering what sounded like a blessing in his ear, before moving on to Derek. He still hadn’t gotten used to Melissa’s motherly compassion, and was shocked when she kissed his forehead as well. She started clearing the table as Stiles lead Derek outside, handing him one of the backpacks. Scott trailed after them an unusually serious expression on his face. Scott stopped Stiles with a hand on his arm, and Derek sensed that they wanted some privacy and moved further away from them. He could still hear everything that they said, but they seemed grateful for the illusion of privacy. 

“Stiles you know that I believe in you, and that I believe you can pull this off. I know that you’ve been through a lot, and that you’re tough, but please be safe. Promise me that you’ll be careful. Promise me” Scott said voice urgent, as Stiles nodded his consent. “I promise”.

“Now go kick some ass. Downal wyth bluddy bid hid.” Scott laughed

“Downal wyth bluddy bid hid” Stiles yelled in a delighted voice at Scott’s retreating back. 

At Derek’s questioning look, Stiles laughed again. Derek wasn’t sure that he had heard what they said correctly. “It’s outlandish. It means down with bloody big head, meaning the Queen of hearts.”

Derek nodded again. It made sense that they had their own language, and one that the Queen of Hearts presumably didn’t understand. “Which way to the castle?”

“Some go that way” Stiles said pointing left “others go that way” he said pointing right. “Personally, I prefer taking the short cut, but that’s just me” he said with a sly grin, stepping up to a big oak tree. Derek carefully stepped up to the tree, sensing the weird magic it was emanating. Stiles placed a paw on the trunk of the tree and the mark glowed a deep red before fading. Derek was about to ask what they were waiting for when Stiles hooked his claws into Derek’s shirt and pulled him back a couple of steps. It looked like the tree started burning from the inside out, smoke billowing towards them. Small flames licked up the trunk of the tree until a doorway was visible. When the smoke cleared Derek could see that the door lead into a dessert like environment, with a huge castle at the end of a long road. Under any other circumstances Derek might have described the castle as hauntingly beautiful, but something about it made him unable to ever view it as beautiful. It terrified him for some reason, and it wasn’t because he had heard of all the horrible things that had happened there. He couldn’t figure out what was making him feel absolute dread in the bottom of his stomach. 

Stiles was looking at the tree with such sadness that Derek wanted to sweep him away, and make sure that all Stiles ever did was smile. He knew without a doubt that something about the tree wasn’t as it was supposed to be, but also that Stiles had been expecting it. The sad resignation on his face quickly disappeared, and was replaced with a look of determination as he went through the doorway beckoning Derek to follow.

***

The desert that surrounded the castle was not kind to either of them. Thorny bushes scratched at them from every direction, and even though Derek healed almost immediately, the trek was difficult. It pained Derek to know that Stiles wouldn’t have been forced to wander this road if he had not been with Derek. He could have chosen to simply evaporate and reappear inside or near the castle, but he had been adamant that he and Derek should stick together. Still, Stiles’ unwillingness to leave him made something warm unfurl in his chest. 

“Derek, dude! Stop glaring at the thorns, they can’t see you… excellent hearing though! So if anything you should yell at them”

Derek turned his head to stare ingenuously at Stiles, but quickly schooled his features into something more natural as he noticed Stiles’ smirk and the mischievous spark in his eyes. If Stiles’ growing grin was anything to go by, Derek hadn’t succeeded. 

“Don’t call me dude” Derek said as way of answer, which only made Stiles grin grow impossibly wider. Derek turned to look ahead at the overgrown path, wincing slightly as the thorns made contact with his skin. Derek pushed some of the vegetation out of the way and wordlessly gestured for Stiles to go through. Stiles merely rolled his eyes and moved underneath Derek’s arm pressing unnecessarily close to Derek’s body as he did so, which allowed him to smack Derek in the face with his tale. At Derek’s affronted look, Stiles cackled and Derek had to fight very hard not to laugh with him. 

They were steadily nearing the castle, but it still came as a shock to Derek when it was suddenly just there, and while the castle had been haunting from a distance it was absolutely horrifying now. Derek could smell the blood of so many people that he wasn’t even able to tell them apart. The scent of misery and absolute hate emanated from the castle walls, strong enough to make Derek gag and take a couple of staggering steps backwards. Stiles made a sympathetic sound before moving closer to Derek, once again pushing his tail in his face. This time however, Derek relished the way Stiles’ scent was able to block out the smell of blood and pain, even if it was just for a moment. When Derek gently nudged Stiles’ tail away, he could have sworn that Stiles was blushing something fierce. If cats could blush that was.

“Thank you” Derek said, but this time it was Stiles, who remained quiet. 

Heavy boots being dragged across the ground spurred them into action, and Stiles lead Derek to the sewer entrance. Both of them held their breaths as two guards crossed the drawbridge standing around wordlessly for a couple of minutes before they headed into the castle again. The entrance to the sewer was located directly below the drawbridge, raised about 20 inches over the liquid in the moat, which allowed Derek to get there with somewhat dry clothes. Before Stiles could even ask, Derek was prying open the grate covering the entrance. He carefully placed the heavy metal on the slippery ground, not wanting to drop it and rise alarm, nor did he want to fall into what appeared to be a mix between water, blood and tears. 

Derek gestured for Stiles to go first. It went against all of his instincts that told him to protect Stiles with everything he had, but Derek didn’t know where they were going and Stiles did. For once Stiles was quiet and passed Derek with a serious expression. It was weird not seeing him smile, and Derek was well aware that at first he had thought it weird that Stiles even could smile. Now he missed it, as Stiles carefully moved through the sewer without any of his usual restlessness. His back was hurting by the time they reached the kitchen, and Derek stood up with a relived sigh. They hadn’t been caught yet, but they hadn’t even been properly inside the castle for more than two minutes so Derek kept his guard up just in case they should run into someone. 

They had only managed to lock about a dozen doors, starting with the one’s they knew lead to some of the soldiers’ quarters before Derek heard the vague sound of female laughter. It sounded hollow and eerily familiar. Stiles cocked his head to the side silently indicating that he had heard it as well. Stiles turned the lock he had had his paw on before the laughter and the click sounded deafening in the silence. Derek took a shaky breath, forcing himself to quietly move further down the long hallway. Stiles was completely silent, but Derek could feel him following by the small puffs of air that hit the back of his neck. It should have been annoying or distracting, but it only seemed comforting to him in the absence of Stiles’ heartbeat. 

Sounds echoed of the walls in a way that had Derek tightly wound up ready to attack or run depending on what they encountered when they reached the end of the hallway. Halfway down the hallway Derek heard the sound of a sleepy heart, but it was quickly waking up. He reached back, alarming Stiles that someone was coming. The servants’ room must truly be small, because Stiles only managed to push Derek into a nearby alcove and change his appearance by the time a door opened to reveal a sleepy looking woman. 

She gave a surprised squeak, which quickly turned into a scared ‘meep’ when she laid eyes upon Stiles. Derek could understand her reaction as he took in the unfamiliar appearance that Stiles had currently taken on. It was a young man of relatively normal height with light brown hair. He was wearing what appeared to be a guardsman uniform, mostly made from dark leather. As he, Stiles Derek reminded himself, turned his head a bit more to one side, he could see that he was also wearing a heart shaped leather eyepatch over one eye, made from the same leather as the uniform. 

The woman gave a hasty bow before speaking “Knave Matt… is there anything I can do for you?” Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, but she stayed put until Stiles answered. Stiles weren’t looking at her face, avoiding her eyes, and his own roamed her body lingering where her nightdress had shifted to reveal part of her leg. She was clearly very uncomfortable, but merely shifted a bit so that the dress once again covered her skin. It made sense that Stiles would try to make her uncomfortable in effort to quickly get rid of her, but Derek wondered how much of this was Stiles aptly impersonating whoever’s face he was wearing as to not arouse suspicion. 

“No. I was just going to draw myself a bath, but I think I can manage that on my own don’t you?” Stiles sneered at the woman in a weirdly soft voice that sent cold shivers down Derek’s back. The woman nodded, and the scent of her relief hit Derek like a freight train, as she hurried back into her room, seemingly haven forgotten whatever made her get out of bed in the first place.

Stiles quietly locked her door, before he turned to face Derek, who instantly understood why Stiles had avoided the woman’s eyes. The eye, in the twisted face that Stiles was wearing, was his own. One beautiful golden eye stared back at Derek as Stiles slowly changed to his own human shape. He rubbed forcefully at the eye that had been covered by the eyepatch, and Derek gently pulled his hand away when he realized how shaken up Stiles truly was. As Derek looked into Stiles overwhelmingly beautiful eyes he felt like he could stand there forever, holding Stiles hand and not saying anything. 

“I’m okay” Stiles said before taking a couple of steadying breaths. “I just… If I had been anything less than an obnoxious creep, she would have gotten suspicious, but her looking at me with so much fright in her eyes it brings back bad memories. Did you know that people were afraid of me once? They thought that I was weird and red, so they lashed out at me. I never did anything in return, because I was on their side and I wanted them to know that I could be their friend. After a while, they stopped being scared of me. Then they called me weak and pathetic, because I never fought back whenever they did something. I could have hid from them, taken on another form, but I like who I am and what I look like. It reminds me of my mother. I just… can’t believe I’m doing this now, here”

Derek’s heart clenched in an uncomfortable way, and he had a feeling that someone more well versed in emotions would have said that his heart was breaking for Stiles. He looked so miserable in that moment and nothing like the happy loudmouthed boy Derek had come to know, but it didn’t bother Derek at all. He felt almost honored that Stiles trusted him enough to open up about his past and his insecurities. He wanted to know everything there was to know about Stiles, the good and the bad. 

“Hey come here” Derek said before tugging Stiles into his waiting arms, and the way Stiles melted against him felt right in every way. “Don’t think about that. You’re amazing and one of the strongest people I have ever met. You stand and fight against everything that’s bad here in wonderland, protecting people that are too ignorant and too presumptuous to realize everything you have done for them. Most people would have given up on saving those ungrateful bastards, but you keep going because you know that it’s the right thing to do. You are so brave, you risk your live almost every week going to this godforsaken awful place to gather information for people who won’t even acknowledge you. So I say it again, you are amazing”. Derek had no idea what he had even said by the time he finished, but it must have worked since Stiles had stopped smelling so miserable. He was still quietly sniffling, and his eyes were still damp, but he no longer seemed quite as sad. Derek had the fight the urge to let out an embarrassing whine when Stiles stepped away wiping at his eyes. 

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that much in one go… but thank you” Stiles whispered, smiling a bit self-deprecatingly. He seemed to quickly slip into his more serious mind frame, and Derek wondered how often he had to simply put on a happy face and get the job done. Derek could still see the sadness in Stiles’ eyes, but it somehow seemed less dominating than earlier when Derek had noticed the same faraway sad look in his eyes. They were both perfectly broken the two of them, but Derek knew that just being around Stiles made him feel a little less broken, and a little less sad. He was starting to realize that he might be able to do the same for Stiles, and he hoped with everything he had, that he too would be able to chase the sadness away. Stiles took Derek’s hand and pulled him away from the alcove giving his hand a small squeeze before letting go and resuming the task of locking all of the doors. They locked whatever doors they could find, while moving in the direction of the throne room, to let Alison’s awaiting army in the front doors. Derek still had no idea how Alison planned to get an entire army to the front of the enemy castle without being seen, but she had had a look of steely determination in her eyes, that somehow made Derek believe that she could actually manage it. 

He kept sneaking glances over his shoulder to check on Stiles, who was once again a cat making it harder to determine his emotions. The scent of sadness had long disappeared, but so had every other scent that Derek usually connected with Stiles and he hated it. He hated the loss that he felt as well. They slowed their advance when the lighting in the hallway changed indicating that they would soon reach its end. 

Deep red light filled the throne room as Derek and Stiles silently entered it. The white and black marble floor was cracked in various places creating rather large gaps between the tiles. Random splotches of blood covered the floor in some places and a multitude of different torture instrument littered the floor as if they were children’s toys. As he teared his eyes away, they locked onto the walls and columns supporting the arched roof of the castle. The cold grey stone that made up both the walls and the columns had crumbled in places revealing what appeared to be heartstrings underneath. The red flesh was pulsating with live for a second or two before becoming fainter as if the life was slowly slipping away. It was fascinating in some morbid way, and it almost distracted him enough that he didn’t notice the person who stepped out from behind the red and gold throne. Derek slowly turned his head and couldn’t help the pained noise that seemed to get stuck in his throat at the sight. 

Kate Argent was quietly standing next to her throne as if appraising the situation. She was wearing a big red dress, with black and white patches covered in red hearts. The dress somehow managed to make her look lethal instead of beautiful. As Derek looked her over he noticed that her head was a few sizes too big and that, coupled with the absurdity of the situation, almost made him laugh. He couldn’t tell if she was surprised to see him and Stiles in the castle, but going by the wry grin she had on her face he assumed that they had been expected. Also, she had hid behind her throne for who knows how long, just to make that particular dramatic entrance. 

“Derek! I’ve been expecting you. And you brought a friend how nice” She spat, and Derek was rooted to the spot. Stiles seemed to have the same trouble moving as his cat eyes followed Kate’s every move. 

“I brought friends too” She sang, just as playing card guards surrounded them. Derek swallowed thickly when he saw how many spears where pointed at Stiles, and hoped that the cat wouldn’t run his mouth.

“You’ve been a real pain in the ass sweetheart. This doesn’t concern you. I just want to take my rightful place as the ruler of Wonderland; it has nothing to do with you. Well, I did kill your entire family I guess, but I’ve heard that you good people forgive easily. We had such fun together Derek, so why don’t you just go home to your little burned out den and we’ll forget about all of this.” Her voice was so sweet and sounded so caring, but it did nothing to Derek besides making him even more furious. His glare seemed to be enough since Kate sighed and mumbled something that sounded like ‘Guess not’. 

“You Hales are ever so stubborn. Did you know that I tried seducing your sister Cora first? I mean after all she was the real Alice, but she saw right through it. Peter was too smart and Laura never really trusted me. She just tolerated me because she thought I was helping you. That only left you Derek. You were the only one gullible and stupid enough to fall for it. That gave me the information I needed, and I burned your house to the ground. Then just to be sure, I killed that bitch of an alpha. I was being so smart about it too, killing our Alice, and whoever might be the next Alice, outside of Wonderland.”

Kate took a deep breath and slowly descended the stairs moving closer to him and Stiles. Derek itched to place himself in front of Stiles shielding him from possible harm, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to give her any leverage against him. “Then you had to go and break the rules. A male Alice! It’s unnatural, but that also seems to be a theme with you and your family. Or should I say pack?” She sneered the last word as if it tasted bad. “Maybe it’s because you’re such a little faggot that Wonderland thought you were a girl, huh sweetheart?”

At Derek’s panicked look, Kate merely laughed. She turned her dark eyes to Stiles, and Derek felt every muscle in his body tense up. Every slow and deliberate step she took towards Stiles had Derek practically vibrating with the effort to stay still. If it wasn’t because they also had weapons pointed at Stiles, Derek would have already thrown himself in front of him. Kate smiled a poisonous smile at him as she saw his tense and protective stance. 

“I must admit, that I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting your little boyfriend before. What sort of animal are you? You’re certainly very pretty, I can see the appeal. Are you sure he’s trustworthy Derek? He’s so deliciously red. Now speak before I cut you in half cat”

Her attempt at making Derek doubt Stiles bounced right off, but he knew that Kate was using everything she had learned in their sessions. She knew that he was generally distrustful and paranoid, but Derek wouldn’t listen to her, or her opinions, for a single second longer. Stiles was all that mattered. 

“How can you claim to be the rightful heir and Queen of Wonderland, when you know so little about it? You know nothing of this country, its rules or its inhabitants. You are nothing but a fraud and a poison to this land!” Derek fully expected to see Kate raise her hand ready to strike Stiles for running his mouth, but to his surprise, she only laughed. 

“Feisty, I like it! CUT OF HIS HEAD” She finished with a furious yell. To Derek she reminded him of a young child throwing a tantrum. Back in the real world Kate had seemed so controlled and cold, which Derek had misinterpreted as sophisticated and calm at first. In Wonderland is was so much easier to see the madness, the real Kate. Her madness was different from the one that every other inhabitant of Wonderland shared as a common trait. Her madness was malicious and destructive. Panic barely managed to settle in Derek’s body before a loud crash and several unintelligible yells turned everyone’s attention to the large castle doors. He hoped to whatever weird deity they worshipped in Wonderland that it was Alisson’s army knocking on the door. 

The card guards had been equally distracted by the tumult and Derek was his chance to grab one of their spears, cutting through half of them with relative easy. It was rather disturbing to see the spear slice through the thin material of the cards aided by Derek’s superior strength. Where blood and guts should have been, a few specks of ash were to be found instead, and whereas the cards lay motionless the ash was moved around by the wind as the remaining card guards quickly turned to face Derek. Stiles was nowhere to be seen and Derek was relieved when he could suddenly hear Stiles’ heartbeat near the large wooden doors from which could be heard more yelling, snarling and growling. Derek restlessly shifted the spear from hand to hand, preferring his own claws, but knowing that letting that many enemies close to his body could only end badly. 

One of the guards attacked and Derek barely managed to block the blow. He could see that all of the cards where realizing that the first blow he had dealt them with the spear had been pure luck combined with them being distracted. As the next card moved to attack, Derek thought something along the lines of ‘screw it’ and threw the spear at the card. It was such an unexpected move that it gave him the time to loosen up his shoulders with a rolling movement shifting into beta form in the same breath. He let his eyes bleed as red as Stiles’ fur and roared at the guards, actually managing to knock them backwards a step or two. Standing slightly crouched keeping his clawed hands out from his body, he felt like he might actually have a chance. The powers of an alpha flowed through him more powerful than ever before, but he had no idea what might have caused the influx of power. It could be that he was currently in wonderland, which is a place of magic, or it could be something both simpler and more complicated like the fact that Stiles and all of his friends felt like pack. 

All of the cards took one step forward, their movements perfectly synchronized and Derek watched as their faces seemed to melt, revealing bits of bone and stringy muscle. They snapped their exposed teeth and crowded closer with slow calculated movements. The door to the palace burst open and almost like something straight out of a movie, the Bandersnatch came thundering through the door. None of the cards even reacted as the Bandersnatch came running straight at them. Derek understood why they didn’t react, the Bandersnatch was on their side after all, but it didn’t even glance in Derek’s direction, and he would bet anything that Stiles was the one to let it in. True enough; the cards were taken by surprise as the Bandersnatch ran straight into them, knocking them over and unto the ground. It continued to where Kate was standing regally besides her throne. She screeched in surprise and shock as the big animal pounced on her. It grabbed her around her middle, stilling for a second, and Derek could have sworn he saw the beasts lips move, but he heard no sound as it promptly slashed her throat. Kate’s blood gushed from the wound, almost indiscernible from the red of her dress as it ran down her body and unto the floor.

It seemed like all of the air disappeared from the room, and yet it was the first time in years that Derek felt he could breathe properly. Kate’s death was so unexpected and anticlimactic that Derek knew it wouldn’t properly register until after a few days. The same thing had happened when his family had been killed. He hadn’t cried at the police station or when they had to give their statements. Laura had cried every night, even as they slept in the hospital besides their uncle Peter. Derek only realized that his family was gone, and gone forever, when he and Laura had to stay in a motel. It was so quiet, and nothing smelled familiar in the least. 

Derek’s eyes tracked the Bandersnatch almost mechanical as it roared in what seemed like victory and charged the card guards once again. The guards had almost managed to get themselves upright as the Bandersnatch knocked them over once more. Then when it didn’t move from its position on top of them they started loudly complaining and Derek could have sworn that it rolled its eyes. Stiles appeared next to Derek and he would have jumped from the shock if not for the fact that Stiles’ calming heartbeat was the first thing that he noticed. 

“Easy dude! Just take it easy” It took Derek a second to realize that Stiles was talking to the Bandersnatch. “You’re Peter right? Cora told me about you. She said a lot of nice things about you…. Actually she made you seem kinda like a sarcastic asshole, but aren’t we all?” Stiles trailed of nervously. 

Derek was frozen to the spot. He kept running over what Stiles had said, but it didn’t seem any more possible or make any more sense. The Bandersnatch kept staring at him, and even though he could feel its gaze on him, he couldn’t make himself raise his eyes from where they were studying the scrapes in the stone floor.

“Derek?” Stiles asked softly, and Derek’s head snapped up to look into his golden eyes. Somehow, he found the strength to look at the Bandersnatch by looking into Stiles’ worried and beautiful eyes. He was aware that it sounded incredibly cheesy, and was glad that he didn’t have to speak it out loud. Stiles looked as if he could tell anyway. He let his eyes sweep over the Bandersnatch, numbly noticing the patches of burnt fur and scarred skin. Taking a big breath of air did absolutely nothing to help when he finally met the Bandersnatch’s eyes. The blue color was so familiar and reminded him of better times, of arguing over thanksgiving and of pulling pranks. There was madness in those eyes as well and it unnerved Derek. It seemed like a mix between the madness normal to this world, and whatever had taken ahold of Kate. 

“Peter?” Derek asked, hating the fragile and slightly desperate note in his own voice. He was supposed to be the alpha, and he couldn’t even manage to hold up the façade. It hadn’t been hard to keep up appearances back in the real world, and with Stiles Derek didn’t feel like it mattered to even try. Seeing Peter, made Derek feel guiltier than he had in a long time. Not only because the fire had been his fault, but also because he hadn’t been strong enough to pick himself up off the floor after Laura’s death. There was no denying that the Bandersnatch in front of him, lazily hitting the guards over the head with his tail if they complained too much, was his uncle Peter. Even the underlying scent was the same, recognizable even without the werewolf part. 

“How?” Derek cleared his throat “How are you here?”

When Peter didn’t answer immediately, Stiles looked between them before he started speaking. “You came here on The Horovendoush day didn’t you. It’s the day The Queen of Hearts took control over Wonderland” Stiles added for Derek’s sake. “I had heard rumors that the Bandersnatch had changed, as if overnight. It didn’t really seem all that important when the rest of Wonderland was growing ill, slowly being covered in ash.”

“That I did yes” Derek was glad that the voice of the Bandersnatch in no way resembled that of his uncle, but he also ached to hear that familiar sarcastic drawl. Peter’s new voice sounded like he hadn’t spoken at all before. Maybe he hadn’t. “My body was severely damaged by the fire, as I’m sure they told you Derek, and even our healing wouldn’t be able to fix it. The Doctors were almost convinced that my body was just an empty husk, and it is now… It really isn’t all that difficult to transfer a soul to another body.” 

“That is awesome. Like super awesome” Stiles said, and Peter huffed out a laugh. 

“Derek are you okay” Stiles asked, changing back into human, placing a comforting hand on Derek’s arm. “Yes, I’m fine” Derek replied a bit tersely. He didn’t know how to react to all of this. Stiles still looked worried, but he dropped the subject, for which Derek was eternally grateful. Stiles’ hand stayed on his arm, warm and soothing keeping Derek tethered to the earth.

Footsteps echoed through the room, simultaneously making Derek growl and Stiles hiss. Allison came barreling through the door that both Stiles and Derek relaxed and quieted down. They turned to stare at each other, and Derek could have sworn that he saw peter roll his eyes. Some things never change. Some things shouldn’t. Allison was breathing heavily and had a smear of blood on her cheek. As she came closer, Derek could smell that it luckily wasn’t her own. 

“My army is just outside, but for some reason most of Kate’s army just gave up during battle. They’re locked up, but some of the cards are still fighting. What the hell happened? Do you know where OH MY GOD” Allison yelled her eyes glued to where Kate was still laying on the floor. The blood had stopped flowing, but Kate’s lifeless eyes where starring up from her position on the floor. She still had a shadow of a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

Stiles’ warmth disappeared from Derek’s side, and he felt strangely empty as he saw Stiles hurry over to Allison. She was deathly pale and looked sick, but she still had a fierce and determinate look in her eyes. Derek could hear Stiles whispering comforting words to Allison and she gave him a smile after a couple of seconds. “I’m fine Stiles. I thought I was prepared, but it just came as a shock. I’m fine now. It’s just hard seeing her like that and even though I know that she was evil and had nothing good left in her, she was still my aunt.”

It made sense that Kate was somehow related to Allison since she had meant she had some claim to the throne of Wonderland, but Derek hadn’t given it any real thought before. He was reminded of the first time he saw Allison and somehow managed to see Kate in her. Until she smiled that was. Allison was nothing like her aunt, of that Derek was certain. She had some of Kate’s character traits, but they were very different people. Derek had spent time with Allison before he learned of her true connection to Kate and it had allowed him to be unbiased. Peter was looking at Allison with narrowed eyes, as if determining if she was a treat or not. Derek didn’t like the look his uncle was giving her, but when Stiles was suddenly in front of him, his honey eyes drawing him in, he seemed to forget everything but Stiles. 

“Finstock and his knights have found the Jabberwocky, but it’s sick. They say that it’s barely moving, and keep throwing up this gross black goo.” Stiles whispered, pulling Derek towards the door. Peter followed them out causing the door to the great hall to remain open for a bit longer, but it seemed as if Stiles only relaxed his shoulders when it shut behind them. “I just wanted to give her some time alone. I think she needs it” Stiles said casting a sad glance over his shoulder. 

Derek avoided looking around as they moved towards where Finstock and his men were waiting. Many of the card guards where laying on the ground hacked into pieces, but Derek was strangely relieved to see that most of them had thrown down their weapons. He had no idea how they had known Kate had died. Maybe someone saw Peter tear out her throat? Or maybe they didn’t need a better reason other than being able to say that they had simply been captured. That way they wouldn’t be punished if Kate came out on top. Most of the allied knights guarding the cards belonged to Allison’s army, which could be seen by their white clothes and armor. He did spot a few wearing red though, so it seemed like some of Lydia’s army had come out of hiding. After all, they were hunted and hated because of the Queen of Hearts, so it made sense for them to be there. 

As they walked towards the Jabberwocky, most of the soldiers ignored them, but Derek could hear a few talk about him, whispering in that weird language Scott and Stiles had spoken in earlier. Derek had no idea if it was because they knew he would be able to hear them, or if Stiles and his friends all just spoke English for his sake. Stiles reached down and took Derek’s hand as they reached the castle’s outer wall. Broken bits of bricks and bone lay scattered in the courtyard, and the closer they got, Derek practically had to hold Stiles to his body to prevent him from falling. He didn’t mind all that much, even as he failed to convince himself that it was just the warmth that was nice. 

The Jabberwocky was a rather pitiful sight when they were finally able to lay their eyes on it. It had crashed halfway through the castle wall, still laying in the rubble panting with black goo leaking from the corner of its mouth. It snarled weakly at the white chess guards surrounding it. Derek had expected that he would feel sorry for the creature, but when he looked into its cold red eyes, he saw nothing redeeming, only pure hatred. Granted, Derek wasn’t the best judge of character, but this time he had let his wolf make the first impression. His wolf was always right, and it was currently whining in Stiles’ direction as the boy paled. Stiles had gone unnaturally stiff besides him, but seemed to shake himself out of it as a knight with eyes as wild as his dark hair quickly approached them. Derek recognized him from the meeting at Melissa’s house. 

“Bilinski!” The man yelled. “Good, you’re here. You’ve met this thing before; do you have any idea what’s wrong with him?”

Stiles shook his head “No clue coach. The last time I met him, we didn’t exactly have time for a friendly chat” Stiles said, something like steel sneaking into his voice. The knight “Coach” simply huffed and turned to his knights yelling at them to stay alert as he stomped away in the other direction. Derek wanted to ask, when Stiles had encountered this malicious creature before, but somehow managed to hold his tongue. It was clearly a sore subject if the stiff way Stiles held himself was anything to go by. He himself knew what it felt like to need to think things through alone, without interruption or meddling. 

“Coach?” he asked instead, trying to lift the heavy mood that had settled over them both. He felt like he had succeed in something monumentally important when Stiles turned and smiled at him.

“Yeah! No one knows why, but that is the only thing he’ll respond to. He is one of Allison’s best knights, even though he often seems madder than the rest of us. He was the one who called my dad out to have a look when Greenberg fell of that wall.

“Ah” Derek simply said, not knowing what else he could say. 

Stiles smiled, still seemingly not bothered by Derek’s awkward demeanor. The smile disappeared all too quickly, when Stiles turned to face the Jabberwocky once more. It was still laying on the ground, trying to lash out after the guards, who seemed immensely wary, even when faced with its weaker state. The poem of the Jabberwocky ran on a loop inside Derek’s head. He remembered it well and remembered the way Cora was terrified of it, which was only lessened when Derek read the entire thing in silly voices. As they grew older, Cora stopped being scared of the Jabberwocky and seemed instead to pity it. She had then told him vehemently that it was an evil and malicious creature, and that she only pitied those who it had forced its opinions on, and equally those who had been forced to watch their kin derail into evil madness.

As Derek had stood absorbed in his own thoughts, Stiles had slowly been inching closer to the Jabberwocky. He was still standing behind the line of guards, when Derek noticed the tightening in the beast’s hind legs. His own legs pushed him forward before his conscious mind had even perceived the danger. Something in his unconscious, something instinctual was able to recognize the treat.

The Jabberwocky threw itself forward and bit into Stiles’ side, just as Derek reached them. All of the chess guards had been knocked to the ground, by what appeared to be the Jabberwocky’s last strength as it clamped its teeth into Stiles. A scream echoed the courtyard and Derek’s wolf howled inside his head, screaming as well. “Danger, hurt mate, kill, protect!” These were the last actual thoughts that Derek remembered having before his wolf took over and pounced on the Jabberwocky. Somewhere in the corner of his mind, Derek noted that Stiles had shifted into a much smaller shape, almost like a mouse, and had slipped out from between the Jabberwocky’s teeth. His wolf preened at the cleverness of his mate, and focused once more on fighting the Jabberwocky. 

It wasn’t much of a fight, and it seemed like the Jabberwocky truly had used the last of its strength to attack Stiles. Derek wasn’t sure why it would use its last minutes in such a way, but the wolf didn’t care, and soon after Derek felt warm blood coating his tongue. The jabberwocky writhed in pain, but Derek held firm where his teeth were deeply imbedded into its throat. Only when it had been laying still for almost half a minute did Derek allow himself to unclamp his jaw, spitting out blood and black goo. He staggered over to where Stiles lay on the ground, once again human, already being seen to by Melissa. Derek hadn’t even known that they had brought Melissa with them, but it made sense to have a competent nurse, or someone who used to be a nurse, when going into battle. Scott probably wasn’t very happy with letting his mother this close to the fight. Even though the fight seemed to be mostly over.

Some of the guards bowed before him as he moved towards Stiles, but he was intently focused on where he could see Stiles’ blood flowing sluggishly into the ground. He was almost at their side, when Allison’s guard, coach Finstock, came running into the courtyard, white and silver sword raised over his head.

“Vorpal! I’ve got the vorpal sword! I’ve..” he came to a screeching halt as he looked around, almost dropping the sword on the ground, when he looked at the dead Jabberwocky. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Derek finally reached Stiles and sank to his knees besides him. He couldn’t tear his eyes from Stiles pale face, as his eyes fluttered, long eyelashes casting shadows on his face. The guards were still bowing and kneeling, heads bowed and hands hold over their hearts. Coach Finstock simply looked like someone had hit him over the head with his own cupcake basket. Only the Vorpal sword could kill the Jabberwocky, Derek knew that. Of course, he knew that, but it wasn’t important right now. The Jabberwocky had been sick, poisoned with something, allowing Derek to take the last blow. It wasn’t important, and Derek couldn’t even remember if he was even breathing. Stiles was so very still, and even the sound of his heartbeat didn’t help. Red tinted his sight and he could feel his claws digging into the hand he was not using to stroke Stiles’ face. Melissa reached over; placing her calm warm hand on top of Derek’s clawed one. “He’s going to be fine Derek. I promise. He’s just using most of his energy on healing.”

Derek simply nodded, not trusting his own voice.


	9. Wonderland

“Ow, shit fucking, ow” Stiles moaned, hand going to his bandaged side, eyes flashing when he poked at the tender looking wound. Derek stood stock still in the doorway, as he had for a long time. He had moved to stand in the doorway the second he heard Stiles’ heart speed up, indicating that he was about to wake up. While Stiles had been unconscious Derek had spent every moment at his side, steadily leaching away Stiles’ pain. Derek liked to think that instincts had prevented him from leaving Stiles’ side, but he knew that even with the lack of supernatural instincts he would still have been at Stiles’ bedside. 

The first time Melissa entered the room and found Derek almost asleep in the chair next to Stiles’ bed, he had lurched upright, only to be stopped by her small smile and comforting hand on his shoulder. She left after having checked up on Stiles, most likely to inform his dad of any progress, who also checked in on Stiles every few hours. Derek had felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to save Stiles before the Jabberwocky had gotten to him, but equally as guilty for clinging to Stiles’ side, not allowing any of his family to visit him without Derek being there. Stiles didn’t belong to Derek, no matter what his wolf thought. It didn’t make it any better that Derek’s wolf was certain that Derek belonged to Stiles as much as the other way around. He didn’t have any right to treat Stiles as his mate. Stiles had never agreed to anything, and shouldn’t be held accountable for something Derek felt. 

“Derek?” Stiles asked, giving Derek a searching look. It was filled with worry, which was ridiculous since Stiles was the one who was injured and the one that everyone should worry about. “Are you okay?” He ended up asking Stiles, not addressing Stiles’ similar wordless question.

“Yeah, I’m just dandy!” Stile said enthusiastically, and Derek flinched when he heard the lie in his heart. Stiles must have noticed his flinch, because he sighed and tried to sit up in the bed. The smell of pain that emanated from Stiles was enough for Derek to move closer, carefully helping him sit up. 

“I’m fine Derek, just a bit sore. The Jabberwocky, is he…?” Stiles asked.

He looked like he didn’t really want to know the answer, but he kept waiting and in the end Derek nodded his conformation. Stiles nodded in return and blew out a slow breath of air, scent turning a bit lighter. 

“Good, well not good, but.. eh! How’s Allison? I mean, they weren’t very nice, but losing both her aunt and her grandfather at the same time… That’s rough” Stiles finished, and Derek blinked at the new information. He had known that Kate had been Allison’s aunt, but he had had no idea about the Jabberwocky. How could something that looked like that even farther something remotely humanoid? 

“She’s okay. Scott’s with her, and only leaves her side when he’s checking up on you. If you don’t mind me asking, how does their family fit together? I… it’s just there isn’t any resemblance?” Derek said, wincing a bit at his question, awkward as ever. 

Stiles laughed, whether at Derek’s question or at his awkwardness he didn’t know. “Yeah, I have no idea. I’ve never really wanted to know. 

It was at that moment that Melissa entered the room. “Oh, good you’re awake Stiles” She checked his bandage, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder at the same time. It wasn’t difficult to see that she viewed Stiles as a son. It made something in Derek purr at the thought that his mate was being looked over by someone who would clearly never hurt him. “It’s healing quite nicely, so if you’re feeling up for it, they are holding the crowning ceremony for Scott later today” Melissa held up her hands to stop Stiles from talking “he waited for as long as he could, but the people want to see their new king.”

Stiles still looked indignant, but he nodded his head that he understood. “Well, why are we still here then? Derek help me get up, I want to see my brother become king!”

Derek couldn’t help but smile, when he heard the proud and excited tone of voice Stiles used. Getting Stiles out of bed and into clothes that Melissa deemed presentable was time-consuming. He didn’t want Melissa to help him into the shower, and had blushed a furious red, when she had suggested that Derek help him. Stiles insisted on wearing his red suit, certain that Lydia would be wearing red as well. ‘We have to stand together, Derek!’ he had exclaimed when Derek suggested more comfortable and not red clothes. 

When they arrived at the castle two hours later, Derek was surprised to see Peter there. He was talking to Deaton, standing at the edge of the garden, but he seemed deeply interested in what the caterpillar was saying. Lydia came to greet them shortly after they arrived, and she was indeed wearing another deep red dress. Stiles shot Derek a look at that, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes, hiding his small smile. Lydia caught it anyway if her satisfied smug look was anything to go by. 

Both Derek and Melissa were quickly put to work, Derek doing some heavy lifting, moving tables wherever Lydia directed. Melissa then placed beautifully created bouquets of flowers on each table. Stiles was hovering around in his cat form. He had changed as soon as Melissa said it wouldn’t pull his stiches. He was constantly annoying Derek, criticizing ever tables placement, laughing when Derek bared his teeth at him. 

Soon after guests started to arrive, sitting down at different tables. Allison had wanted the ceremony to take place outside, so that more people could attend even if they did have stand up. Derek recognized some of Lydia’s guards who had been at the Queen of Hearts castle. They sat in the periphery and all the guests ignored them, or sent them hateful glances. It made an irrational anger spark in Derek as he looked upon the scene. Stiles noticed as well, and placed a human hand on Derek’s own, successfully calming him down in seconds. 

“It’ll get better Derek, don’t worry. Everything is getting better, it might take some time, but it will get better” Stiles whispered, nodding toward Danny, Ethan and Aiden who had all moved to sit among the red guards. 

Derek turned over his hand, intertwining his fingers with Stiles’, holding his breath as his heart raced. Stiles looked at their hands, for a couple of seconds before his face split into a wide and achingly beautiful smile. It seemed like time was slowing down, and the air between them became more charged with something undefinable the longer they looked at each other. He had no idea how long they had been sitting like that, when a trumpet blaring caused both of them to jump away from one another. Isaac was smirking, when he ran past the two of them still blowing into the trumpet, while his blue scarf flew in the wind behind him. 

Stiles gave a little laugh, and rubbed a hand over his face before turning to Derek once more. “The trumpet means that the ceremony is about to start. We should probably find our seats”

Derek nodded his agreement, and moved towards their table, when he was stopped by Stiles’ hand on his arm. He held his breath as Stiles slid his hand down until he could take Derek’s hand in his own. “Okay?” Stiles asked with a soft voice. His golden eyes were uncertain, but Derek could also see something that he thought was hope in them. 

“Yeah” 

Stiles smiled at that, and led them to their table just in time for the ceremony to start. The crowning seemed to take even less time than the wedding had, but Derek supposed that it could be because Stiles still hadn’t let go of his hand, and kept drawing soothing circles into his skin with his thumb. Stiles kept muttering the translation of the outlandish in English so that Derek could understand. It didn’t make any sense no matter the language. Before, he knew it they were all kneeling on the ground bowing their heads to the new king. Derek followed suit, gently being led by Stiles’ hand in his. Strangely enough, it felt right to acknowledge Scott in this way, as he stood beaming next to an equally elated Allison. 

The following feast was a mix of confusing rituals and old traditions that didn’t leave Derek seated for long, but he had Stiles by his side for most of it, so he wasn’t complaining. Eventually Lydia demanded to dance with Stiles, and Derek was left alone by the side of the dancefloor. He hadn’t dared to step unto the dancefloor, as he saw how everyone danced. Limbs were moving in a way that shouldn’t physically possible, he was sure of it, but Stiles had only laughed and then thoroughly educated him on the joys of Futterwacken. 

Lydia and Stiles weren’t so much dancing as Stiles was constantly evaporating and appearing again making Lydia laugh even as some of the other guests looked on with annoyed faces. None of them dared say anything to Stiles, since he was Scott’s best friend, but Derek wished that they could truly see how wonderful he was. When Stiles returned to Derek, his cheeks were covered in an attractive blush and he was panting slightly after the dance. It seemed that the wound on his side hadn’t effected his ability to evaporate and reappear again. 

“Like what you see?” Stiles asked, and it was only then that Derek became aware that he had been staring. It was the first time that either of them had been that direct in acknowledging, what Derek only now realized was mutual attraction. His heart skipped a beat and started beating faster than he would’ve liked. He was sure that Laura would’ve laughed if she could see and smell how nervous he was. He had only ever been with two people; Paige had died because of him and his entire family was dead because of his relationship with Kate. Nervous, might be an understatement, but as he looked into Stiles’ expecting eyes he couldn’t really be afraid. 

“Yeah” he whispered, making sure that only Stiles could hear. 

Derek had expected him react to the news in some way, but Stiles kept his face carefully blank, which Derek couldn’t remember ever seeing before. “Really? You really mean that?” Stiles asked, heartbeat nowhere to be heard. Derek really didn’t like it whenever Stiles hid his heartbeat. It was unnerving, even though he was standing right in front of him, Derek couldn’t hear him. It didn’t register as a threat though, as Derek suspected that it would, had it been anyone else; As it was it only registered as loss. 

“Yeah” he repeated, slightly confused as to why Stiles seemed so unwilling to believe it. 

Stiles’ widened in an almost comical way and Derek could suddenly hear Stiles’ heart beating franticly within his chest. It was such a change to the previous silence, that Derek automatically fixated on the familiar sound, not noticing when Stiles moved even closer. They had already been standing well within each other’s personal space and closer than social conduct would normally allow. He only reacted when Stiles gently lifted a hand to his cheek. “Don’t listen to my heartbeat, while simultaneously looking so intense, it’s creepy”. 

“Sorry” Derek murmured, eyes straying to look at Stiles’ lips. Stiles hummed, before closing the gap between their lips, kissing Derek ever so softly, before slowly pulling away. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that” Stiles said with a small smile. 

“I think I do” Derek countered, swiping his thumb gently over Stiles’ bottom lip, reveling in the small visible shiver that ran through Stiles’ entire body.

“Derek… do you… do you want to stay here? I know that this isn’t your world, and that it’s different from anything you’ve ever known, but you might like it here. I don’t want you to feel like you owe it to me to stay here though, or that you have to because of what just happened. I made Melissa save some of the Jabberwocky’s blood, which would allow you to return to your world, in case you wanted to go home, but I want to ask you to at least consider staying.” Stiles asked with a low, but somehow equally powerful voice. 

As Derek looked into Stiles’ eyes he wanted nothing more than to stay in Wonderland, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to. Sooner or later Stiles would probably get tired of him and regret asking him to stay, or Derek would somehow manage to ruin everything that he had gained from being in Wonderland, like he had ruined everything else in his life. 

“Stiles, I don’t think I can stay here, even though I want to. Actually there’s nothing that I want more, but I can’t risk ruining everything again. It’s my fault that Paige died, and it’s my fault that my entire family died, burning alive locked inside our house as it burned down. Because I was naïve and young, Kate managed to rip my entire world apart, and then I let her do it again, when she killed Laura. I want to stay, I want to stay with you, but I don’t think I could handle ruining everything and seeing you start to resent me for it.” Derek finished, wondering if all that he had just said, made even the slightest bit of sense to Stiles. He wasn’t sure how much Cora had managed to tell him, before she died. 

“I’m sorry, but that’s bullshit Derek. From what I gather you haven’t ruined anything, only Kate is to blame for has happened to your family” Stiles said in an angry voice, before taking a deep breath and continuing in much more soothing voice “Do you really think that I could ever resent you? That I could ever hate you? Because that isn’t possible Derek. You’re one of the best people I know, and a lot of bad shit has happened to you, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that you’re a good person. Despite what you may believe, you don’t ruin everything you touch. Wonderland is better when you’re here, and I know that I will always want you to be here, rolling your eyes at me, grumpily glaring at everything, all the while being the biggest marshmallow on the inside. You make things here better” Stiles finished gently squeezing Derek’s shoulder, where his hands had landed after he was done waving them around as he spoke. 

“He’s right you know” Came Scotts voice from behind Derek, who turned to look at him. 

“You do make everything better. It’s not just something Stiles is saying because he’s pathetically gone on you” Scott continued, ignoring Stiles’ indignant splutter. “I know that you noticed all of the ash when you first came here, but how can you not have noticed that it’s disappearing. The longer you are here, the more healthy Wonderland gets. That’s why Isaac thanked you for fixing his roof; your presence near the house made the ash go away. The ash was Kate’s doing, and now that she’s dead it will disappear on its own, as will the evil madness that have made people turn on each other, so you don’t have to stay here, but you can never ruin anything here. You are our Alice after all” Scott finished with a small smile, before walking back to Allison to take her hand. 

“So?” Stiles asked nervously, not allowing Derek to continue before he spoke again “I definitely want you here, if you want to be here with me. Besides, now that Scott is king, his little pack needs a new leader doesn’t it?”. Derek glanced to where Boyd and Erica were play fighting, with Isaac cheering on the sidelines, enthusiastically blowing into his trumpet whenever one of them got the upper hand. Currently it looked like Erica was winning despite her small size. 

“Yeah, I’m staying” Derek said, knowing that he would never regret his decision. The real world had never been kind to him, and it had stopped feeling like home the minute his family died. Wonderland had always been like a home to him, a place to go when he wanted to get away from the world, picking up the book and curling up on the couch with both Laura and Cora. 

“Good” Stiles said, smiling before he threw his arms around Derek’s neck. Hugging him close, Derek took in Stiles’ comforting warmth and familiar smell. This was his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it :)
> 
> I'm so glad that I finally finished this. The idea had been bouncing around in my head, refusing to leave me alone. I managed to write this in between all of my school work, so I'm surprised by how long this turned out to be. Also, since this was bit rushed, feel free to point out any mistakes in the text, or if I have missed a tag :)
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated.


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